Resolved
by NE8675309
Summary: Jeff has been forced to realize his feelings for Annie just as she has decided to ignore his very existence. While Jeff is trying to make up for his own past indifference, Annie is trying to make a new start free from her own naivete. Angst and misunderstandings ensue. Post S5. Takes place during the Summer as an Alternate S6.
1. Enough

Dave Matthews' voice filled the cafeteria, intoxicating Greendale students and professors alike. Annie stood beside Abed and felt the weight of impending doom slide from her chest. They had succeeded; Greendale would live to see another day and somewhere in her heart, Annie began to convince herself that that would be enough. A thousand things had happened in the past 5 hours, some bad and some good. The good had outweighed the bad, clearly, but all in all, Annie was beyond exhausted. She danced close to the rest of the group and allowed herself to glance at both Jeff and Britta. Maybe they would be happy together, maybe she could move on now. Annie knew better; they would be a terrible couple and she would always wonder, but if there was one thing that she knew to be true it was that holding on was doing her no favors. Her entire adult life she had been consumed with existing inside this semi-incestuous entanglement that had once been a study group.

Annie brought her friends into a quick group hug. "Thank you." She smiled at all of them. She spoke a little quieter and shared one final stolen glance with Jeff Winger. "You saved us." He looked back at her, almost withdrawn. Before another word could be said, Annie patted Abed on the shoulder and walked away. For the first time in years, Annie needed a nap.

She got home to the empty apartment and reached into the fridge and pulled out a beer. There was a rule in their apartment about touching each other's food and drinks, but considering that Abed rarely drank and he mostly kept it for guests, Annie was more than willing to risk a small amount of wrath. If she could survive today, there wasn't much else that could get to her. She sat in Troy's old recliner and chugged at first. After a minute, she slowed down into sipping and looked at the picture of her, Abed and Troy on the wall.

The year had taken its toll on her. Everything felt up in the air and juggled. They had lost Pierce, Troy had left and today their group's home had almost been taken from them. Even if no one else had noticed it, Annie had realized that slowly but surely their little Greendale family was getting smaller. She entertained the thought of being the next to move on. It wasn't that she was keen to abandon her friends, but someone would probably outgrow them soon, why not her? It seemed the natural order of things. She honestly should've been gone ages ago. Her whole purpose for coming to Greendale was to get back on track after rehab, to exceed in her studies and move on. These past few days she had felt an unhealthy attachment to the school, clinging to the ridiculous establishment because of all the precious memories it had to offer her.

Annie knew that it wasn't just the school and her friends that she was clinging to. That look in Jeff's eyes down at the bunker, in that blue and white collared shirt she loved so much, was enough to make her insecure in a way no one else had ever made her feel. She meant to properly encourage him to follow whatever actions he deemed necessary to be happy, but speaking to him like that, she felt so exposed. That wasn't a new feeling for Annie, she always felt naked around Jeff; she could hide from anyone else, but her attempt always seemed futile around him.

She finished her beer and kicked her flats off, toeing them into their little designated cubby near the front door. She tossed the glass bottle into the recycling bin and headed to the bathroom to draw a bath. Annie only stayed in the tepid water for ten minutes at most; feeling progressively drained and unable to delay her nap any longer, she dried off and pulled her hair into a tight damp bun.

The moment her head hit the pillow, she succumbed to slumber, dreaming of bunkers, a sentimental computer and a dashing figure in a blue and white collared dress shirt.

* * *

Jeff Winger quickly grew tired of the Dave Matthews' song. Part of him considered that his annoyance was coming from Annie's quickly disappearing figure, but he dismissed that thought almost immediately, because then that would mean what had just happened in the bunker was more than a fluke. He put off his irritation and grabbed tightly to his elation; no matter how it was done, the school was saved. They would live to be mediocre another day. He danced clumsily, along his friends. Britta and he laughed at the dissolving of their ludicrous engagement. Now that sanity reigned freely yet again, he couldn't believe he had ever considered the union in the first place. He loved Britta, undoubtedly, but no more than a friend, in fact he hadn't even looked at her sexually in years and if he had to be honest, he had never quite looked at her romantically. Simply the vision of being married to her actually gave him a frightful shiver.

The music ended eventually and there were several offers to countless after parties and celebrations; Jeff dismissed them all and knew that the cure for whatever he was feeling was a solitary glass of scotch on his leather couch in silence. On his exit of the cafeteria he received some pats on the back and a few vague compliments for his efforts, though few actually knew what happened in the bunker and none knew how that door came to fly open.

Jeff saved the day and should be content that he had brought relief to, well, dozens of people. He wasn't though, content that is. Not even a flicker for Britta; he had focused so hard on the others, begging any of them to be the key, he would have even been relieved if Abed had inspired the passion required to open the door, in spite of what kind of revelation that would mean. Deep in some part of him, he knew it would be Annie, which is why he left her for last, he had to put off the look and the subsequent realization, until desperation deemed necessary. The more glasses of scotch he poured, the less he could blow it all off as a coincidence. Much to his own dread, Jeff knew better and could only be honest about it when he was three sheets to the wind. Annie was…

Jeff wouldn't delude himself into thinking he knew how to properly finish that thought. It didn't matter; he had been shoving down his attraction to Annie for five years and feelings for her almost as long. Sometimes he amused himself in thinking that she was on a pedestal, far beyond his reach and then they would share a moment or a look and for a brief second in time he would assume that it was possible, something between them. She couldn't be on a pedestal if he could reach out and touch her and more often than not, it was what he craved to do; touch her, kiss her, and tell her that he's sorry he could never be what she needs or deserves, or just tell her anything beyond stating that it's all in her head. To put it simply, Jeff Winger was an ass of the acutest kind and now he felt like he was drowning in the smell of her and the smoothness of her skin or the way her hair once felt like satin in his hands, or the way her right hook could knock him senseless and that adorable look of determination she would get on her face when she channeled 'Formidable Annie' (as Jeff liked to call it), with one eyebrow raised and contemplatively biting her bottom lip, knowing that there was no solution she couldn't find, not Annie Edison, impossible or hopeless were words she refused to add into her vocabulary.

In summation, Annie Edison terrified Jeff Winger. Forget that they were friends and that he couldn't handle to lose her, ignore the pesky age difference that complicated things, silence the throbbing in his chest when he looked at her, if the world were to fall to a crushing hush, she would still be that ambitious, considerate, unstoppable, beautiful, inspiring go-getter, who didn't accept failure because she always saw it as opportunity in disguise. Annie was everything Jeff wanted to be, but always fell short of. That's why he liked that pedestal so much, but maybe that was the real problem. All this time, he had refused to admit any feelings for her and slowly but surely they had grown stronger. Maybe if he had chosen to not be a coward and acknowledged those feelings, at least to himself, then he could've moved on, instead of being where he was now. Hopelessly in l-… He couldn't finish the thought; some part of his head told him that there was a perversion in giving such a name to his indescribable feelings for Annie.

Jeff wanted to blame it all on the passion that was needed to open the door. One could claim that it was his attraction to Annie, his physical desire for her that opened the door, but he knew better. In that moment, he didn't think about how kissing her tasted or how fantastic her body felt flush against his; no, he thought of some damn innocent endearment that had started at the beginning of their friendship. He just thought of Annie, pedestal and all.

His phone buzzed and Jeff saw that he received a text from Britta.

'The party is still going on. Your a buzzkill for not joining. Way to Jeff the moment.'

-B

Despite his inner turmoil, Jeff couldn't suppress his chuckle. He didn't have the heart to tell Britta that it was far too late to replace their slang of 'Britta' with his name, or that she had used the incorrect 'you're' for that matter. His reply was short.

'Too tired, long day. Leave me be.'

-Winger

His ex-fiancé seemed unconvinced by his text and took it upon herself to call him. He groaned into the phone. "What?"

"Why don't you come have fun? The whole crew is here, well, minus Annie. Apparently, she's being as hermit-y as you are." Jeff pondered at that for a second before Britta continued. "Are you that torn up about the engagement?" She chuckled and the sound was so familiar that Jeff could almost smell the vodka on her breath through the phone. "I'm sorry, Winger. You're just not my type."

He sarcastically laughed. "And here, I thought I finally had a shot, now that I am filling out my application for the circus as we speak." Britta scoffed. "So what tickles your fancy more? Managing a ring toss booth or a shooting gallery? You know what, I bet if I fudge the application a bit or collect some kick ass references, I could probably work as a cotton-candy vendor or supervise the Ferris wheel. What do ya say, Pookie?" He slathered the final endearment with sickly sweet condescension.

"Maybe you could get a job as the bearded lady?" She said with a verbal pat on her own back.

"You know the entire bite of that insult consists of you implying that it is both demeaning and embarrassing to be called a woman."

"Crap!" He could practically hear Britta searching her intoxicated brain for a better comeback.

"Night, Pookie." He hung up quickly, not wanting to hear the inebriated stuttering's of a Miss Britta Perry any longer.

Before he could gather at his own motives, he began calling Annie, curious to answer the question of her own disappearance from the festivities. The phone rang three times and although Annie had just awoke from her nap, she didn't think twice before sending the call to voicemail and heading to the kitchen for another beer.

Jeff looked at his phone and saw that it wasn't even 9:30 yet, but he didn't want to exist for another minute, so he dragged his feet to bed. Before connecting his phone to the charger, he felt it buzz in his hand. His stomach lurched for a second, before he saw Britta's name. The text read:

'Maybe you could get a job as their contortionist, on account of you're head already being so far up you're ass.'

-B

Jeff couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped him. That was actually a decent comeback, but part of the sting escaped at her misusing the correct 'your' yet again, only opposite this time. He had to think it was on purpose at this point, but then again it was Britta, so there was a very good chance that this amount of ineptitude was wholly genuine. However, the grammatical misstep had him convinced that she had received no help in drafting the insult and had oddly enough had him applauding the comeback, even if it was 10 minutes late.

* * *

Annie woke up in the middle of the night, after 30 minutes of tossing and turning, she let herself lie on her back and gather her resolve to officially wake up. She readjusted her pale pink tank top and pulled her laptop onto her bed. She turned her side lamp on and began drafting lists. After 10 minutes of that, there was nothing left to organize, so she checked her email.

Annie's breath caught in her throat as she noticed a reply from Colorado Bureau of Investigation regarding their paid internship program. She took two steady breaths and opened the message. If it wasn't 4 in the morning she would have hooted and hollered. Annie couldn't believe her luck; her application had been accepted.

Annie shuddered out a sigh of relief, she had been so afraid she would have to take up some crappy part-time job over the summer to save up some money and help with bills. She felt herself get swept up in the idea of making a change. Yesterday had caused her to finally gain some perspective on her life and where it was heading. She had spent so much time building a little life in Greendale and it was almost all over in second; something told her that it was a blessing in disguise, reminding her that she could delay growing up for only so long.

If she had to be honest, she had Jeff to thank for this change of heart. Maybe this was the first step. She began to draft another list; more like guidelines for what she needed to avoid. It was time to let herself want what she wanted and to not apologize for another second.


	2. Summer

Annie's internship would begin a week later, so she spent her free time catching up on some reading and avoiding any group plans. She loved her friends desperately and always wanted them in her life, but the relationship had escalated passed codependent a long time ago. On Friday, after days of ignored texts and phone calls, Abed knocked curtly on her bedroom door twice and entered before she could answer. When he opened the door, he held his cellphone in his hand. "Shirley has promised me that she won't stop calling me until you take one of her calls."

Annie sighed, nodded to her roommate and took the phone from her friend. "Thanks." He spoke softly before immediately exiting the room.

"Hey, Shirley."

"Don't you 'Hey, Shirley', me. Annie, where the hell have you been?" Shirley's voice had taken that deep two-tone quality that let Annie know that it was time to calm the dragon or receive the wrath.

"I'm sorry, Shirley. I know I've been ignoring everyone, but my internship is about to begin in a few days, and you know me; I can never be too prepared." She tried to laugh it off, but it seemed Shirley was having none of it.

"But you can be too isolated." She exhaled loudly. "I thought we were friends, Annie, and here I am, desperately needing your help and not being able to get ahold of you. I thought I meant more than that."

She silenced a sigh in response to the obvious guilt trip. "You're right, Shirley. I'm free for the next couple of hours if you still need help." Annie hoped Shirley wouldn't take her up on the offer, but knew better.

"Oh, that would be splendid. I need help decorating for little Ben's birthday party tomorrow. You know, you only turn 3 once. I've been able to corral both Elijah and Jordan, but I still need help with decorations and little party favors, so I could really use a feminine touch around here. Who else could I ask, Britta?" Annie still had yet to get a word in, despite Shirley's over the top snort of laughter at Britta's expense. "Andre's all thumbs, poor man doesn't know how to properly make a curlicue with ribbons and the lord has only supplied me with small amount patience for that man's creative hopelessness. I need a touch of Annie."

Annie sighed and began gathering her stuff. She quickly got off the phone with Shirley and gave it back to Abed. "What did she need?"

"She needs help decorating for Ben's birthday party, so I've been coerced."

Abed tilted his head in confusion and for a fleeting second, Annie thought the gesture made him almost look like a puppy and she had an odd urge to scratch behind his ear. She smiled to herself and shook the thought away. "I thought you like doing this sort of thing?"

"I do, I'm just trying to stay focused right now."

"Annie, your internship hasn't even begun yet. Avoiding the group seems a little extreme."

"I'm not a-"

Abed quickly cut her off. "Yeah, let's not do that thing where we argue over something stupid, especially when we both know I am the official observer of this group. You don't want the group coming over, you spend the majority of your time in your room and I have personally seen you ignore 13 calls in the past two days. Don't try to bs a watcher."

"Okay, fine. I just think it's time I got my crap together and I think you understand better than most that our group is a genuine distraction. I don't have time for that anymore."

Abed nodded very slowly and for a second, Annie felt like he could see right through her with his concentrated, unblinking stare. It was beyond unnerving. "Okay, well, I have to go." Annie hurried out of there faster than she would have usually believed possible.

She was on goody bag duty and had made her way back into Shirley's good graces through her propensity of curlicue technique. "So, what exactly happened in that bunker?"

Annie nearly cut her finger on the scissors, shocked out of her silent and comfortable reverie by the difficult question. "I'm not sure."

Shirley sighed. "Why won't anybody tell me anything? I was stuck with Hickey while you guys got to go on a literal treasure hunt. Can't I at least get some good stories?"

Annie sighed and looked away. "Well, Borchert is weird and hygienically deficient, which anyone with two eyes and a nose could tell you." Shirley's face contorted at the memory of the unkempt man. "I don't really know, we got in there and tried to steal the gold wiring hooked up to Raquel."

"Raquel?"

"Wow, no one told you anything, huh?" Shirley nodded, exasperated. "Borchert has this very disturbingly fervent connection to his computer, which he has named Raquel." Shirley made another face. "All her wiring is gold plated, but that isn't the interesting part. Borchert claimed that he had somehow wired Raquel to understand and connect with emotion. Jeff seemed determined to dismantle Raquel right in front of Borchert and take the wiring; I guess you could say I convinced him not to. I don't know Shirley, being completely honest and not at all trying to insult him, I found Borchert to be so pathetic and the idea of robbing him of his only comfort through the past few decades just seemed wrong, no matter what it might be saving." Annie continued the convoluted tale, ending with a sigh. "And then we ran out there as fast as we could."

Shirley absentmindedly wrapped a present. "Weird that Jeffrey would make everyone turn around. I find it hard to believe that he could even possess feelings strong enough to open that door so effortlessly."

Annie shrugged. "Oh, you know Jeff. He's emotionally constipated; I bet he didn't want us seeing him get all sappy."

Shirley chuckled. "Yeah, Jeffrey, sappy? That'll be the day."

Annie tried to sound casual. "Who knows? I would've said the same thing about him ever getting engaged, yet here we are. Maybe he does possess the ability to grow. This is Greendale, stranger things have happened."

"Debatable. Plus, I doubt we can consider that ridiculous and failed ploy for attention to be an engagement. Call me old fashioned, but I believe you need to be engaged for more than 6 hours for it to be legitimate."

"What do you mean?"

Shirley suddenly remembered Annie leaving the cafeteria before everyone else that day. "Oh, they cancelled it after the sale fell through, in the cafeteria."

Annie denied the hastened beat of her heart. "Oh, is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm never sure when it comes to them."

Shirley shook her head. "I know what you mean, but I think it's a good thing. Their calling it off seemed casual and upbeat, almost like they didn't care in the first place."

Annie refused to think of this as good news. Just because Jeff and Britta weren't getting married, didn't mean anything had changed. She focused her hands on the detailed work she was performing on a particularly pesky ribbon. "I don't know why they just don't do it and get it over with. After everything it always comes back to them; why not just cut the back and forth time and commit to something?" Annie shrugged her shoulders, lying through her teeth; if she said she believed it enough, maybe she could will it to be true.

Shirley shook her head softly, impressed by Annie's indifference. "I guess, I don't know. Once upon a time I was their biggest supporter, but I think they are both too similar and too unromantic. There is nothing special about them as a couple; I think they see it too, which is why they never attempted dating, at least not for real."

"I don't know, I think it's just a matter of time." Annie forced a smile and a question popped out of her mouth before she had time to second guess it. "Do you ever think about leaving? Greendale, I mean?"

Shirley stared at her, surprised. "What are you saying, Annie?"

"I don't know it's just 5 years later and nothing is what it started off as. Pierce died, Troy left; sometimes I just wonder if it's time to move on, you know what I mean? Have you ever thought about it?"

Shirley looked serious and thoughtful. "Annie, those who are gone, didn't have much choice in the matter."

"I'm not saying they did, but change happens whether we mean for it to or not, right? So why not meet it head on?" She looked away.

"Have you thought about it, Annie?"

Annie no longer even bothered fiddling with anything but her own hands. "It's crossed my mind. Sometimes, I feel like this thing gets out of hand and becomes almost toxic." Annie slowly looked up at Shirley. "It's kind of like: do you amputate the finger or lose the whole hand?"

Shirley couldn't and didn't try to hide her look of equal parts baffled and insulted. "I know you're not comparing your dear friends of 5 years to Gangrene."

Despite herself, Annie actually laughed. "No, Shirley, I don't mean it like that." She sighed and thought for a second. "Okay, it's like, do you remember Todd?"

Shirley nodded and clicked her tongue at the same time. "Well, regardless of our warped perceptions of him, Todd was actually a pretty nice guy. He listened to us hurl insults on him and he only talked back after Britta nearly murdered that turtle. We spent the whole night caught up in our own crap and then blamed everything on Todd. We do that; we constantly alienate anybody that comes close to invading our circle. It's even arguable that we are what drove Chang to that psychotic dictator coup. I don't know about you, but I actually find that to be troublesome."

Annie could tell by the look in Shirley's eyes that she was starting to see where Annie was coming from. "Someday, I'm not going to be able to see you guys all the time and I don't want to have isolated myself so deeply that I can't function around normal people. I want to exist somewhere outside of the group. I can't go on forever as the studious, ex-addict in the Greendale Seven."

Shirley could see the worry in Annie's face and realized that the young woman had been giving this a lot of thought. She reached out and patted her surrogate daughter on the back. "I get it, Annie. You know that you exist outside this group though, right?"

Annie smiled and shook her head. "In our first year, I was 18. I had no concept of myself as an individual. I mean, we all have changed over time, but going into it, everyone had a preconceived notion of who they were. I didn't. I just want to know that it is still possible for me to be around other people and be able to form non-hopeless relationships." Mostly, Annie just yearned for something that wasn't unrequited with an expiration date. She wanted to be wanted for once. "I can't depend on you guys forever and I feel like purposefully distancing myself now will make it easier when the time really comes."

Shirley felt like she understood what Annie was truly saying. This last round with Jeff had tired and embarrassed the poor girl and if there was one thing Shirley could recognize it was a tired and embarrassed woman; Shirley had worn that same shade herself more times than she had liked to count. Instead of clinging to some idea of the man that she seemed to have an unfathomable connection with, Annie was trying to move forward and that kind of bravery amazed Shirley. She couldn't tell Annie all of this, because she didn't want to humiliate her anymore beyond what she was already naturally feeling. Shirley wasn't sure that Annie would understand or care just how proud she was of her in that moment. "You know, Annie. You make a good point. You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for."

Annie smiled and Shirley was thrilled to see that she had taken her compliment to heart. "I know that the group dynamic can threaten your individuality, but please do me a favor and try not to disappear on me. Screw the group, but don't abandon me, okay?" Annie inquisitively lifted her brow. "You and I are the most grounded in the group and without a semi-normal friend like you, I fear for my sanity."

Annie laughed a hearty chuckle at that. It would all work itself out eventually, if she just willed it hard enough.

* * *

Jeff didn't even know why he bothered calling anymore. According to Abed, Britta and Shirley, Annie was busy preparing for her internship. Jeff felt annoyed that he hadn't even had the chance to congratulate her yet. He strolled through the halls of Greendale, stopping for a brief second to look at that lonesome debate trophy. In moments like this, it was almost impossible for the cynical Jeff to not get sentimental. It was never supposed to be her. Despite all the things Jeff had said in the past, he always assumed that eventually one day, sooner or later, he would settle down in some form or another. He never expected to want it so desperately with a doe-eyed, innocent, and optimistic 24 year old.

It would be fine, he told himself. A heart could change and he would navigate around his feelings for Annie; going down that road would only bring trouble. Jeff couldn't help but wonder if these feelings were unrequited. He had always known Annie to possess a schoolgirl type of crush on him, but was there anything more? In moments, he felt that she shared a true affection for him, but as his call had just been ignored for the 15th time this week, he no longer had to wonder. Why even bother calling her when he knew it wouldn't come to any fruition? Annie obviously didn't want to speak to him (or anyone for that matter; he added to make himself feel better), so why continue to call her? She would call him soon enough anyways; it was Annie. Yes, Annie would most definitely call him.

* * *

It had been almost 3 weeks since Annie had last spoken to Jeff in the cafeteria. It disturbed her just how much she had missed him, and just how much of an effort he was making to reach her now that she was ignoring him. Now it made sense why he always went back for Britta; he craved intentional indifference. How frustrating, she thought.

Annie filled her thermos with coffee and grabbed her briefcase, saying goodbye to Abed before heading out. She had been interning at CBI for almost 2 weeks and though the brunt of it was getting coffee and making copies, she was still thankful for the position. She had received compliments from her supervisor, Kathryn, for creating a new and only slightly altered filing system that had proved to be notably more efficient than its predecessor.

It was a thirty minute commute in traffic, but Annie always liked driving in the morning. She would clear her head and sing along to the radio. In the break room, she bumped into a fellow intern, Timothy. He was tall and lean with sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes and dimples that actually captured Annie's attention more than she would like to admit. She offered a bashful apology and his creamy voice waived off her embarrassment. "You know, I heard Tony and Kathryn singing your praises to Greg this morning."

Annie smiled and tried to contain her pleasure at the thought. "Are you telling me that in the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, you were eavesdropping?" She clicked her tongue and sounded mock scandalized. "Shocking and so unbecoming of a future detective." She smiled flirtatiously.

"No harm in practice, wouldn't you say?" He stirred his coffee. "With all the hot gossip in this building, I wouldn't be surprised if this is all a test to help us hone and judge our own observational skills." He looked up. "And when it comes down to our reviews at the end of the internship and they want to know what embarrassing thing Sarah did at last year's Christmas party; I will be the one prepared leaving you all in the dust."

Annie laughed coyly and whispered conspiratorially. "What did she do?"

"Oh, so now you want in on my shocking and unbecoming methods of success? I guess I'll even the playing field a bit." He grinned and leaned in, beckoning her closer. "She danced a little too heartily and her shoe went flying straight into the punch bowl, splashing 3 people."

Annie giggled. "Thank you for that tidbit. I'll try to categorize it away as useful information when the test time comes."

Timothy laughed and then shook his head in mock despair. "Oh, I shouldn't have done that. We are competition, after all. Nothing good can come of getting in bed with the enemy." He said matter-of-fact.

Annie couldn't believe her own playful nature. "Well, Timothy. Let's not put the cart before the horse, shall we?" Annie turned on her heel and left the break room before she could see Timothy's pleased smile at her smart retort.

Annie felt her face heat up any time she thought about the morning encounter for the rest of the day. It wasn't like her to be so brazen. The moment that word crossed her mind, she laughed out loud. This wasn't Victorian England; there was nothing wrong with a little office flirtation, right?

The day trudged on and Timothy was all business, much to her relief. At the end of the day, she saw him waiting outside the entrance. "Annie." He walked to her. There were very few people heading out and she found herself walking alone with him in the direction of her car. "I was thinking I've been pretty unceremonious about this whole competition."

Annie laughed. "I would use the word presumptuous, if you think that I consider this competition."

Timothy was taken aback and grinned at the biting comment. "Well, indulge me. I think I owe you a drink."

Annie was searching for her keys. She looked up slowly. "Is that right?"

"Yes, you see, it is customary to feast luxuriously before battle."

"Feast? I thought you said you owe me a drink?"

"Well, the feast is the upgrade. First I have to warm you up to my formidableness, and then once I have deemed you a worthy opponent, we move on to dinner."

"Again, I say presumptuous." Annie's smile let Timothy know she was considering his offer. "A drink, huh? When?"

Timothy grinned almost sheepishly and Annie was taken aback by how genuinely innocent the expression made him look. "Tomorrow night? After work, say around 9?"

Annie smiled. "8:30." She quickly wrote down her address on a small notepad. "Here, since you invited me, courtesy dictates you should be the one to pick me up, don't you think?"

"You drive a hard bargain, my lady." Annie soured for a brief second, but Timothy didn't notice. "8:30 on the dot. Bring your best warrior face."

He said goodnight and Annie smiled the whole ride home. This certainly felt like progress to her.

That night, Annie almost floated. Sometimes, she could be so resigned to her inactive social life, but now she felt accidentally reminded of her own youth and it brought a smile to her face. She picked out her smartest blouse and tight gray pencil skirt that reached mid-thigh and did wonders for her figure. Even though, she planned on coming home and changing before drinks, she still felt determined to look her best tomorrow.

She warned Abed that she would be going out the following night; she never liked to spring things on his fragile constitution. He did that thing again where he looked at her quizzically and she hurried off to bed.

* * *

Jeff awoke on the couch to a text at nearly midnight, inviting him to a sports movie marathon that Abed was going to do the next night for research. It would be a Friday, but Jeff still thought 9:00 seemed pretty late for starting a marathon. He personally would've pushed the time back a bit, but knew how Abed handled negotiation and deemed the late hour workable. He was mostly saying yes, because he had finally found the opportunity he'd been looking for to see Annie. The thought frankly disgusted him, but he felt as though he was experiencing what he could only think to describe as withdrawals. He shuddered and sat up to turn off the T.V.

These past few weeks had been equally boring and miserable. There was a graffiti aficionado who had been tagging the school water fountains with the school's signature anus. Summer school was small this year and despite, Jeff's underwhelming class load, he found no energy or interest to go on a caper to discover the culprit. On weekends, security had been bumped up due to an underground game of freeze tag, the plot of which had been considered by both faculty and students as unusual and likely all at once.

Greendale was Greendale, but it felt as if it had lost its charm. Jeff's life had quickly become flavorless. The Save Greendale Committee was on unofficial hiatus, as none of its current members possessed both the fortitude and vision for its progression or duties; however, they still met in the Study Room during breaks. It bothered Jeff to see another empty seat at the table, even more so because it was Annie's. Setting aside his feelings for Annie, he had lost his partner in crime. For a while, he was angry that she was so damn Annie that she didn't need to take summer classes. Damn her for being so on top of things, while in the meantime Britta seemed to progressively enhance her annoying qualities as if she was trying to get a rise out of him, but he very rarely took the bait.

They didn't talk about her absence much, which bothered Jeff greatly. It was all he really wanted to talk about, but he couldn't bring up the subject without it being suspect. Abed told everyone that she was fine and her transition into her internship seemed promising and brought her joy. Jeff wished he could only see that for himself. Despite his thorough knowledge of her entire and unprejudiced excluding of the group, he felt as if it was a personal restriction for him. He was almost positive that he had done something terrible to cause her sabbatical. Jeff had screwed up more times than he would ever admit, but he never believed any action of his could tear away Annie from his life. He now knew how foolish his arrogance had been. It had to have been his fault; no one else in the group aggravated Annie as much as he usually did and the deliberateness of her silent treatment seemed more like a punishment with each passing day.

Jeff texted back a reply accepting the invite and picked a flattering, but subtle outfit in hopes of casually looking his best. He went to bed soon after and tried not to picture her face as he very slowly lulled himself to sleep with the almost complete stillness of his room, focusing on the singular sound of his weighted breathing.


	3. Date

Annie spent the whole day counting down the hours until work was over. She was excited, but more nervous than anything. It had been at least a year since her last date and it embarrassed her how out of practice she felt for being a 24 year old. Conversation with Timothy danced the lines of innocently flirtatious and playfully coy. The majority of her nerves died down as she looked up from her coffee in the break room and saw for the briefest second Timothy's appreciative glance at her attire. A couple of other interns were making plans for drinks at a local dive bar and asked Annie to join them. She declined politely, "I actually already have plans. Tonight I am judging the formidability of a prospective adversary." She received several confused and hearty laughs in reply and a small wink from Timothy, which she decided to not acknowledge.

Annie headed home. She hopped in the shower and dutifully got to work on getting ready. Traffic had been a nightmare and she got home over half an hour late, so she wasted no time. Abed came home and offered her a 'hello' to which she only grunted in reply. She straightened her hair and applied a simple winged liner look in favor over more elaborate make up. After finishing much earlier than she expected, Annie decided to pour herself a glass of wine and began painting her toenails purple to complement the color of her tight-fitting dress. As she strapped on her open-toed heels, she inquired about Abed's plans for the evening.

He planned on watching a few movies which didn't surprise her in the least. Annie figured Abed would probably invite Rachel so she cooked a simple shrimp Alfredo dish and made extra for leftovers.

At 5 to 8:30, there was a knock on the apartment door. Annie smiled, stood up and opened it. Timothy was smiling in a black button-up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He gave Annie a subtle, but respectable once over and his smile deepened. "Impractical body armor."

Annie laughed lightly and Abed's eyes widened ever so slightly at the rare sound. "Presumptuous yet again. First, you need to be deemed worthy."

Abed cleared his throat and Annie glanced his way. She shook off her poor manners and introduced her roommate/good friend to her date. Annie then grabbed her purse and spoke over the shoulder to Abed. "I made some extra alfredo for you to share with Rachel. See you later." She left before Abed could correct her assumption. He looked over her strange buttered noodles and shrugged, making himself a plate.

* * *

Jeff straightened his shirt yet again for some reason that eluded him; it wasn't as if Annie would start taking his calls if the wrinkles on his shirt were flattened. Jeff couldn't hide his disappointment when Abed answered the door. "So, I was thinking we start with _Remember the Titans_. Thoughts?"

Jeff couldn't care less, even if he tried with all his might. He nodded, took out his phone and headed for the couch. Abed went into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers.

Jeff thanked Abed and gave the apartment a quick once over. He tried to sound casual. "Where's Annie?"

Abed looked at the T.V. intently watching the old previews he must've seen a thousand times. "Oh, she's out."

Jeff nodded along waiting for an explanation and couldn't help himself from searching for one despite Abed's obvious lack of interest. "Where?"

"Just out." Jeff had been friends with Abed long enough to tell when he was bored by or purposefully avoiding a topic and it definitely seemed the latter. Abed pressed play and began to dig into the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

Jeff didn't pay any attention to the movie at all. He kept peeking at the door hoping for a not so 'chance encounter' with Annie. The whole point of coming to their apartment was to see her. It had been the quietest and emptiest 3 weeks of his adult life and the stillness was driving him to madness. He just needed to see her and hear her voice; which wasn't too much to ask. Sure he was desperate and pathetic, but not unreasonable.

An hour or so passed by the time Jeff thought he might lose it when he heard what sounded like footsteps out in the hallway, that seemed to be getting closer. Once he heard what could be identified as rustling outside the door, he jumped up to open it. "Oh, that must be Annie back from her date." Abed spoke casually as if the statement meant absolutely nothing to Jeff which it shouldn't have, but it did.

"Date?" Jeff tried to sound calm and undisturbed as he took a long stride towards the door.

"Wait." Surprisingly, Abed had turned his body away from the T.V. and gestured for Jeff to stop in his pursuit of the front door. "You hear that?" Jeff stayed silent and let Abed continue. "She's fiddling with her keys. If _Hitch_ taught me anything, it's that jingling keys are the lead up to a goodnight kiss. That and Eva Mendes seems to lack on screen chemistry with anyone."

Jeff almost imperceptibly gritted his teeth. Sure enough the jingling had been silenced. Abed was watching Jeff methodically and after mentally counting to 4, Jeff walked as fast as he could, without being too obvious, and opened the front door.

It hurt Jeff more than he could comprehend, seeing Annie in a passionate embrace with someone else. It was only a kiss, but it was much less chaste than a goodnight kiss should be. Jeff's hand tightened around the door so fiercely, his knuckles turned white. It had only been a second, but he cleared his throat, unable to watch any more.

Annie and the blond boy who was almost as tall as Jeff (which pissed him off to no end) pulled back from one another. Annie's eyes widened slightly. "Jeff, what are you doing here?"

It was unbelievably nice to hear her voice again, but he couldn't enjoy it, under the circumstances. "Movie marathon with Abed."

"Oh." Annie glared through the open door behind Jeff at Abed, but Jeff didn't notice. He was too busy sizing up the boy beside her. Annie looked over to the boy. "I'm sorry. Timothy, this is Jeff, a friend and old schoolmate. Jeff, this is Timothy, a fellow intern at CBI."

It looked like Timothy would reach his hand out for a handshake, but Jeff's curt nod quickly made him rethink it. "Are you coming in?" Jeff gestured inside the apartment, speaking almost impatiently.

Annie's voice was strained when she replied. "Yeah, in a second." Before Jeff could respond, she pulled the door from his grip and shut it between them. Jeff couldn't school the surprise on his face at the move, but Annie wasn't able to see the reaction.

Jeff looked to Abed as witness. Abed sighed. "Never interrupt the 'key fiddle'."

* * *

Annie was able to speak calmly to Jeff, despite her fuming inside. She closed the door between them quickly and smiled, embarrassed and apologetic. "Sorry about that. My friends sometimes lack social etiquette."

Timothy smiled. "He seemed brusque."

Annie shook it off. "Yeah, he's always been protective of me." She tried to make the statement sound less intimate. "You know, with me being the youngest in the group and all." Timothy nodded as if he believed her. She kissed him on the cheek. "Well, thanks; I had fun."

She entered her apartment and Jeff still stood right by the door. Before she could close it, Timothy called out to her. "Annie, you interested in that upgrade?"

She smiled sweetly and lightly blushed. "Definitely. Night." She waved and shut the door.

The moment the door shut, Annie could feel an intense energy coming from Jeff behind her that she quickly interpreted as the eagerness of a verbal pouncing. She sat on the couch and undid the straps of her shoes. If Jeff wanted to bombard her with the 3rd degree, he would have to make the first move.

Annie let out a sigh and was immediately greeted with a reply to what Jeff clearly deemed as an invitation to talk. "So, how long have you been seeing Tiny Tim?"

Annie sighed again. "I'm not seeing him. Tonight was our first date."

"Do you like him?" Jeff's voice sounded less eager.

"It's too soon to tell." Jeff made a face at Annie's reply, but she decided to ignore it.

Annie went into her room and took off her earrings and necklace. She slipped into her sweats and tank top pajamas. Jeff was still standing when she came out of her room. "Where have you been?" He followed her to the bathroom.

Annie noticed Abed turning up the volume of his movie as if he couldn't care less about their conversation. Annie left the door open as she pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. "I've been busy." She took off her makeup and rinsed her face.

"So, I see." Annie snorted and patted her face dry with a hand towel. She began brushing her teeth and ignored the urge to sigh again. Annie knew exactly what Jeff was doing. In moments like these, she once misunderstood his true motive for jealousy, but after him setting her straight so many times, she now understood. He was jealous, but not romantically, he hated not having the attention on him. It was why he reacted so poorly to Vaughn, Rich and even the paintball assassin, the Black Rider. It offended his fragile ego to think that there might be men who showed him up in any way.

She rinsed her mouth and spit, putting her toothbrush away. "I didn't realize I had an obligation to double-check my social life by any of you. I've been busting my butt for several weeks and decided to go on a date, for the first time in too long, to let off steam." She hit her head in mock astonishment. "I always forget my polygamous relationship with 4 other needy individuals." Annie almost stiffened at the bitterness she heard in her own voice.

She began putting on her face lotion. "Well, excuse everyone for being worried about you and put off by your radio silence. You've never been so thoughtless towards your friends."

"I'm sorry, you're right. That's your job." Jeff recoiled and Annie hated that she felt bad, but she did. "Jeff, I deserve my freedom outside this group. I won't feel bad for that and I won't ask for permission."

Jeff looked at her in that way that bothered her stomach and turned her insides out. "What about your friends?"

She faced him and patted his shoulder, refusing to be moved by his expression and reminding herself that she was imagining the tenderness in his eyes. "Real friends would understand that I need time to myself sometimes. Most normal friendships don't revolve around one another's lives 24/7. I'm sure even you understand that frustration." Annie shouldered her way around him and called goodnight to both Jeff and Abed. She slipped into her room and turned out all her lights. It wasn't even 11, but she couldn't stand to be out there with Jeff for another second. She hated how easy it was for him to make her second guess her sanity.

Annie knew Jeff was right which bothered her to no end, because it reminded and confirmed her of her earlier realization that Jeff cared as a friend, nothing more, which stung but after 5 years, she couldn't lose sleep over anymore.

* * *

Jeff looked at Annie's closed door and tried to pinpoint the exact second everything went to shit. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't stop himself from the immature belittling of Annie's date; watching the innocent, but loaded exchange between her and Tim as she said goodnight brought Jeff a feeling of the air in his lungs tightening and coiling around his throat.

The softness in her eyes disappeared the moment he tried to cut her date short. Jeff had always figured himself to be strong in willpower, but watching a gorgeous yet demure Annie be touched by another guy was more than the greatest challenge of Jeff's life. She said it was too soon to tell whether or not she liked the guy and Jeff had to bite his tongue from a snarky comment about maybe liking a guy first before allowing him to do a tonsil inspection with his tongue.

The irony was not lost on Jeff, he had spent so long pushing Annie away and now that she was easily following his advice, he couldn't stand to see her take another step. He choked on his own hypocrisy every time he wanted to say that there was something between them.

Annie's attitude was poison and her voice bitter; Jeff could only take solace that it meant he was right all along. He had pissed her off at some point and she was punishing him by robbing his life of her presence. He couldn't help but wonder, if that was what she really thought of him as a friend, someone who kept those closest to him around only for convenience?

In a sick way, fighting with Annie only made him want her more. She jumped off her pedestal and trudged through the mud to bring him down a few pegs and the effect was hypnotizing. He had missed her so much and she was doing fine without him.

Jeff didn't realize he was falling asleep. He had spent so much time the past day thinking about seeing Annie again and even though the opportunity went to hell, there was some relief in it being over. His body loosened all the nervous energy hiding in the nooks and crannies of his joints and it was a little easier to breathe with the anticipation soothed although slightly shattered as well.

Jeff also didn't feel Abed place a blanket over him as the living room went silent and dark. He didn't sleep soundly and he didn't sleep for long. After a couple of hours his eyes stirred to the click sound of a door.

* * *

Annie had been resolute in not losing sleep over Jeffrey Winger, which was all fine and dandy, but much easier said than done. She walked quietly into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

Annie had hidden some chocolate inside a few days before and if ever she deserved a sugar-improved mood, it was now. She turned around and a gasp caught in her throat. "Holy hell!" She breathed after the air returned to her.

"Sorry." Jeff spoke meekly, a new color on him.

"Why are you still here?" Annie poured herself some milk and took a sip as she leaned her back against the counter.

"I guess I passed out during the movie." He took a hesitant step into the kitchen.

"Which one?" Annie was trying to soften herself to Jeff's presence.

"I honestly don't know. Abed insists on watching so many, that they start to run into one another. I know I've got a lecture coming."

"Hmm." Annie tapped her delicately manicured finger against the glass, thinking to herself. She looked up and offered Jeff her glass.

Jeff took the glass taking a slow sip. It chilled its way down his throat. He handed the glass back to her and she set it on the counter beside her. Annie fiddled with a wrapper and Jeff's eyes focused on her soft finger movements. "Ah, so you'll share milk with me, but not the good stuff?"

Annie smiled despite herself. "Why should I? So you can decline and then explain in detail your rigorous regimen and routine?"

Jeff grinned and mumbled. "Trying saying that 5 times fast."

Annie popped a Hershey kiss into her mouth. "I don't share my chocolate with anyone. You would have to be ridiculously special to even get a bite."

Jeff's eyes darkened. "Zac Efron kind of special?"

"Even more so, probably." Annie shrugged.

"Do you mind if I point out the elephant in the room?" Jeff took a step closer, looking at his own hands.

"Would it stop you if I did?"

"Probably not."

"Point away then." Annie took another sip of her milk.

"What was tonight about?" Jeff's voice was gentle, slightly prodding.

"What part do you mean? Your interrogation or my less than cordial reaction to it?" Annie popped another piece of chocolate in her mouth and chewed almost smugly.

"Annie, I'm your friend and you have literally disappeared from mine and everyone else's lives. I know you don't believe for a second that your absence actually goes unnoticed."

"Jeff, I'm doing my own thing. Once upon a time, we allowed you to do the same thing, even though you disappeared on us to start your practice and felt the need to keep away."

"Annie, I was failing at it and I was ashamed."

"Well, I'm trying to succeed at something. Something other than paintball, solving community college conspiracy theories or kicking butt in hot lava. I'm entitled to a life."

"But don't you want us to be a part of it?" Jeff's eyes seemed sad and Annie had to clear a lump in her throat.

"Yes, but on my terms. I'm just starting this and you can be a distraction," Annie clarified, "all of you. We get caught up in our own crap and lose sight of everything around us. I can't do Greendale forever. Do you think I could be content being some career student like Pierce was? I can't start writing a new chapter, if I keep re-reading the old one."

"Is that what we are; an old chapter?" There was an edge in his voice that cut Annie deeply.

"No, but Greendale is, the study room is, being a part of the Greendale Seven is. I'm tired. I feel like one day I turned around to find that this life I've been building for so long was constructed on top of quicksand."

Jeff nodded. Annie continued while she still felt brave. "And I don't care how desperate you are for attention; I don't want you embarrassing me like that in front of a guest. Timothy is a really nice guy and I don't want you Todd-ing him."

Jeff changed the subject. "So, you're not angry with me?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Jeff, not everything is about you." She sighed with a reluctant smile on her face. "There are other things on my mind." Annie felt like a liar; of course, there were hundreds of things on her mind, but Jeff was always at the forefront, since the end of their first year, he was a fixed point of her consciousness, but she wasn't angry at him, she was trying to get over him, once and for all. She just needed to know that she would be okay without him, because whatever it was she felt for him, it was so much stronger than anything he would ever feel for her and despite the pain she felt in her chest at the thought, it was fine, she would be fine and maybe one day she could handle being his friend again. "You should try it, you know?"

Jeff smiled sarcastically. "What, think about something beside myself? I would, but damn it all, I am just so intriguing."

Annie mock laughed and tried to be a solely platonic friend, even if the words tasted like bile in her mouth. "No, dating." Jeff's face fell and Annie couldn't begin to guess how she should interpret that. He grabbed the glass of milk from the counter. "It's been awhile since I've seen you around anyone besides Britta. If it works, why not try that?"

Jeff tipped back the glass and looked up at her slowly. He leaned over and set the glass down beside her as the ghost of a smirk playfully tugged at his mouth. Annie had a heavy longing to reach out and caress the corner of his lip and lay flat her palm on the unforgiving scruff of his jawline that would surely grate at her skin. "I just can't right now." He breathed and Annie felt something, that nearly resembled a moment, shatter. "Even if I could, it wouldn't be with Britta. It's only our loathing that makes us compatible."

Annie's breath was quiet and her voice soft. "For one another or yourselves?"

Jeff hit her with one of his Winger grins. "Now who's interrogating who?"

"Whom." Annie stuck out her tongue.

"I stand corrected."

Annie shrugged as if the deflect didn't bother her, finished the last sip of the milk and rinsed out the glass. With her back on Jeff, she was surprised that she could still feel his presence. The heat of his body trailed off in waves that broke across her back and she wondered how easy it might be to reach around and kiss him; it had been too long and she felt an ache for him, which filled her core and her chest. But Annie knew all that would come from it would be an embarrassing rejection and an even smaller chance of ever acting like his friend again. So she took a deep breath and realized that she had been gripping the edge of the sink so tightly that her knuckles tensed when she unlocked them.

Annie relaxed her shoulders and spun around with a smile on her face to see Jeff staring back at her, unfocused. He must've been more tired than he had let on. "I'll make my way back to the group when I'm ready, okay? I need you to trust that." Jeff nodded. Annie handed him a piece of chocolate.

Jeff looked at the chocolate and smiled sweetly. Annie walked away saying a brief goodnight when she heard Jeff call just loud enough for her to hear. "Thanks for the kiss."

Annie's insides froze for a second, but she quickly mock laughed and continued walking to her room. If he only knew what thoughts were on her mind.

* * *

Jeff looked at Annie's stationary figure at the sink with a yearning that he had never known. He smiled and joked, but he felt torn inside. Annie was trying to move on, which she deserved and although there was a small, optimistic part of himself that Jeff's cynicism hadn't crushed yet that screamed now was his last chance, he felt like it was too late. He was an old chapter in her life that she was well on her way to leaving behind.

What surprised him most was how casually she had suggested him dating. Now that he had begun to realize just how fixed Annie's presence was in his heart, he couldn't imagine just picking up with some random woman, it almost felt like a betrayal of his needs and desires. It hurt him to think of pretending and if it wasn't Annie, all he could do was pretend. When that door opened, he gave up any denial over just how much she meant to him.

No one should be able to look as alluring as Annie Edison did in a tank top and sweat pants. Jeff wondered if he reached out to graze his fingers against the soft shoulder blades peeking beneath the tank top, would she stop him? If he kissed the curve of her neck and secured his hand over her abdomen, would she move? If he nibbled at her ear, would she sigh? If he ran his finger up her spine, would she shiver? If he told her that she opened the door, what would she do?

Could she, would she reciprocate the maddening emotions that she had awakened in him? It was so easy to watch and wonder and know that his cowardice would prevent his honesty, but for a second he had to pretend, he had to enjoy the idea of that kind of contentment, even if it was all in his head.

Annie turned around and faced him with an undisturbed smile on her face, so unaware of his inner torture at her proximity. If he said something, anything, could this, could they work? He wanted to know, but all too soon she was saying goodnight. The Hershey kiss in his hand made him smile. Even if she was moving on and leaving him behind, she still cared, he was still special, even if only as a friend. He thanked her for the kiss with a small sense of irony and turned to watch her slowly retreating figure. He stood in the kitchen and looked at her door, long after she had gone.

Jeff slipped the chocolate kiss in his mouth and took a last moment to sigh before grabbing his keys and phone. He looked at the clock and choked on the candy. It was 3:13 in the morning. Annie had seemed so awake and now he couldn't help but wonder if she had ever gone to sleep. The more he thought of her, the less he found himself willing to move, which is why he dragged himself out of the apartment through sheer force of will. Jeff was not the sappy type and frankly he didn't approve of this turnaround of his character. He couldn't let some woman melt him, although Annie Edison was never just some woman. He shook his head and hurried out of the apartment, for fear that he might start composing sonnets.


	4. Honesty

Annie let out a sigh of relief when she found the living room empty later that morning. She started making pancakes, the smell of which awoke Abed. He trudged out of his room, still blinking away the remnants of slumber.

He sat on the barstool and watched her for a second before speaking. "So your date must've been pretty good last night, huh?"

Annie looked up at him and blinked animatedly. She couldn't get herself to admit that she had nearly forgotten about her date with Timothy. Her entire night had been cast aside when Jeff's presence blindsided her; not to mention the fight she had picked with him. "He's funny and nice. He also asked me out again." Annie blushed and was relieved that she could feel excitement for the prospect.

Abed nodded and it had the same effect on her as usual, so she continued on as if to her own defense. "I mean, he's an intern like me, so there is no real conflict. Plus, it's casual. It's not like I'm expecting anything substantial."

Abed nodded and started to assemble himself a plate. "I just wouldn't have figured him as your type." He shrugged as if overruled.

"Oh, and what would you say is my type, pray tell?" Annie clicked.

"Older and emotionally unavailable."

Despite Annie's irritation at how on the nose Abed was, she laughed darkly. "Yeah, well, as well as that has worked for me in the past, I've decided to try something that isn't doomed at the starting line." Abed shrugged again. "By the way, why did you invite Jeff over? I thought we agreed not to invite people over?"

Abed took a big bite of his syrup-drenched pancakes. "No, you said you didn't want me to invite the group over and even though I never agreed to it, I don't. Also why can't I invite Jeff over for a movie marathon? He's my friend and I don't think I should have to fill out a form to invite someone to my apartment."

Annie was surprised by the outburst. Abed didn't usually argue about things he wasn't passionate about; in other words, if it had nothing to do with film or television, he didn't care. "I go out of my way to give you notice whenever I stray from our routine and I would appreciate a similar courtesy."

"I don't make you give me notice, Annie. You decide to do that on your own. Besides, if you had been given any notice would you have changed anything? Jeff equals no goodnight kiss with Timothy?"

Annie's mouth was agape, but when she stuttered for words, Abed continued and held out a hand to hush her. "Look, Annie, you do what you want to do, but you and I have already had this conversation. You're not avoiding the group. You recently visited Shirley, I heard you on the phone with Britta the other day, and you haven't started ignoring me. Who does that leave?" He breathed, Annie felt embarrassed and childish. "I'm not here to lecture you; I don't fit that role. I don't need to know your reasons, just know that you're not fooling me. If you need to be away from Jeff right now, I can allow that; which is why I invited him while you were out, but don't force your own stuff on me. Deal?"

Annie nodded silently. "Okay, good." She ignored her own mortification and began cleaning up the dishes. "Annie." She hesitantly turned around. He handed her a few letters. "These are for you." She looked at the top of the stack; it was a thick envelope from Colorado Tech. She tried to not show her anticipation and continued flipping through the letters, still keeping a finger on the one she was dying to open. "Anything interesting?" He watched her with a significance that let her know that he understood to some extent what she was hiding.

"Not really." She lied and hurried to her room where she sat on her bed and called Britta making plans for lunch the next day, all while looking at the envelope sitting on her desk. After an hour she leaned over and tentatively opened the envelope.

* * *

Jeff practically crawled into Britta's bar. He hadn't even sat at the bar by the time Britta had his scotch ready for him. "You look like shit."

Jeff nodded and sipped. "I feel it too." He looked down and tapped the glass. "I think Annie is angry with me." He sighed and tried not to look as bothered as he felt, even if things seemed to be temporarily fixed between them, he could feel an even larger issue pulling the strings.

Britta smiled to herself, catching on quickly. "What did you do this time?"

Jeff shrugged. "Abed invited me over to the apartment to watch some movies."

"And you thought it would be the perfect time to corner Annie for wanting some space?" She said smugly as if she didn't need the confirmation.

"It would've been, but she wasn't there." Britta nodded him on. "So, she came back from her date-"

"Wait." Britta stopped wiping the bar down and made eye contact with him. "Annie was on date? Good for her." Jeff grunted and Britta smiled. "So let me guess, you did that thing where you get unrightfully jealous and abrupt, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jeff avoided her eyes.

"Sure, because you never did that with Vaughn or Rich or The Black Rider or any guy who ever looked at Annie for more than 20 seconds? None of my business, though." She shrugged and continued to seem busy, wiping down the only spotless corner of the bar.

"Listen here, Judy Greer. I wasn't jealous of any of those guys okay, none of them were good enough for Annie and you know it."

"But that's not our call to make, Jeff. Annie is allowed to do what and who she wants." Jeff shook his head at that thought. "And don't kid yourself, Jeff. Rich was a doctor for Christ's sake. A kind doctor, with dimples, straight teeth and an easygoing attitude. As far as his paper qualifications go, I'm surprised they aren't raising 2.5 kids and a chocolate lab in the suburbs right now. Not to mention, that no one has ever been good enough for Annie in your eyes. Even Gandhi would fall short of your qualifications."

"You think Annie would want to date a man who goes on hunger strikes in a diaper?" Britta rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for being a good friend."

"Hmm." Britta hummed the preface to an inkling that Jeff knew she would undoubtedly share.

"What?" Jeff groaned, already regretting it.

"Nothing, really. I just don't recall you being that dedicated as a friend to the rest of us. In fact, I only know you as Jeff Winger, the expert on not meddling. Shirley got back together with her cheating ex, silence from you." She pointed at Jeff to emphasize her point. "Troy and I start dating, again nothing. Pierce dates a call girl, Pierce dates a corporate spy, Abed starts dating Rachel, I date a corporate manifestation, nothing. The only time you seemed interested in being a 'friend' like that to me was when I started seeing Vaughn in our first year, back when you were pursuing me." Jeff's eyes widened, but Britta huffed sarcastically. "But that's just probably me oversimplifying again, right?" She nodded to his empty glass. "So, another?"

"Yeah." Jeff mumbled, bothered by Britta's random and unexpected insight. She could be smart over some of the most frustrating things.

As she poured, she spoke softly, looking at his glass the whole time. "Don't force her Jeff. We all know Annie well enough to know that she doesn't do anything without reason. This must be important to her, so as her 'friend' it should be important to you too."

"But I'm the only one she's ignoring. Can't you get how annoying that is?" He didn't feel annoyed, so much as defeated.

"Maybe, she is angry at you. It probably is intentional." Britta admitted.

"What part of this is supposed to make me feel better?"

"This one." She leaned in and spoke in a pleading but concise tone. "If Annie is angry at you and you feel distance that is her trying to gather some perspective to forgive you. If you push her, she will never have the chance to get over her anger and you could actually end up damaging things between you both in the long term."

It was easy for Britta to say, because unlike Jeff she hadn't felt missing Annie. He knew that she was making a really good point, but he didn't know how long all this would take and living without Annie was the kind of pain that he would usually see Annie about for comfort. He wasn't the best at just bearing his hurt and without her; it was all he could do. It drove him crazy. "Where are you learning all this crap?" He said affectionately.

Britta was refilling a drink for one of her regulars, one of the two other people sitting at the bar besides Jeff. "Hello, Pscyh. Major. Believe it or not, those concrete slabs they call textbooks, have a lot of helpful information."

"The same textbooks that you once claimed said I might want to sleep with my estranged father at our reunion?"

Britta smiled sheepishly. "That may have been an issue with misinterpretation."

Jeff nodded. "Well, that's good to know." Britta glared at him. "Hey, I know it is your passion, which is great and all, but I would rather think that you screwed up as an amateur, than think that that is the kind of crap being fed to future shrinks."

Britta smiled. "And with that I'll assume what you really meant to say was, 'Britta, keep up the good work. I support your scholastic endeavors and understand that although you have room to grow, you have already learned a great deal.'"

Jeff finished his drink in one gulp. "Damn, I sound smart when I start drinking." He grinned cheekily.

"Don't use it as an incentive to get shit-faced." Britta stopped wiping the bar and tried to share a rare, but real moment with Jeff. "It will work itself out. If you really want to help it along though, you might remember how highly Annie values honesty." Jeff didn't know how to react to that, mostly because he had no idea what the hell it meant. Britta cleared her throat. "Besides, what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have some papers to grade or something?"

Jeff smiled. "Oh, Britta. Summer school is the blow-off semester."

Britta scoffed. "It must be nice for the laziest worker in the world to have job security, just because his boss started a fan club in his honor."

Jeff smiled at the sarcasm and served it back. "Coming from the diligent Cinderella who has wiped down the same spot for the past 15 minutes, ignoring the rest of the dirty bar."

She guffawed in response. "How many times do I have to tell you, I hate the comparison to Cinderella because of its antiquated constraints for women?"

Before Britta could continue what was sure to be a 30 minute long rant, Jeff wailed. "Ugh, no! None of this."

She scowled and refilled his glass. "I guess I shouldn't expect you to care; not while being the all too proud owner of a penis." Jeff grinned, which made her scowl deepen. "Or at least what you dare to exaggerate as one."

He mock laughed. "So, if I understand you correctly, you are saying that I couldn't possibly be a feminist just because I am a man?" Jeff could tell, by the deer-caught-in-headlights look on Britta's face, he had trapped her. "How very politically incorrect of you! Besides, I don't see how you could have an issue with Cinderella, being as its one of the first movies exposed to young girls that passes the Bechdel test." Jeff said smugly and waited for the reaction he knew was coming.

Britta stared aghast. "How in the hell do you even know what the Bechdel test is?" He chuckled, but she continued. "And being shouted at by one-sided demands, without really getting to respond, shouldn't be considered a conversation, okay?" She finished with a huff.

He took a sip and quirked his mouth into a partial smile and grimace from the burn of the amber liquid coating his throat. "Well, then by those standards, having been both your dear friend and friend of the benefit variety, are you saying that we have never had a conversation these 5 years?"

Britta blew a raspberry at him and tossed the wet bar towel on him. He nearly shrieked in recoil and that was enough of a win for her, even if she lost any points from verbal sparring. "Hey, new shirt!" Jeff broadcasted. "You, G-D-B!"

Despite herself Britta couldn't help but laugh. "You are such a dick, Winger."

"And you said it was exaggerated."

"Just because you are one, doesn't mean you possess one." Britta went around the bar refilling some glasses and called behind her shoulder. "Go home and think about how best to express honesty."

Jeff still didn't understand what she meant. "You got a concrete slab I could borrow to decipher it for me?" He shook his head and paid his bill. He was more thankful than he would let on; the Annie abandonment had left him all out of sorts, but it was nice to know there was still some enjoyment to be had at Britta's expense.

* * *

On Sunday Annie dressed in some simple cut off jean shorts that gripped her legs mid-thigh with a tight purple t-shirt and some old converse. She met Britta at the mall food court, excited for a casual lunch. Britta met her at the Orange Julius with skinny dark denim jeans, chunky ankle boots and her leather jacket.

Annie looked at Britta in shock. "It's nearly July; how are you dressed like that and not sweating to death?" Britta opened her mouth briefly, but Annie continued. "You realize that dudes are going to check you out and objectify you, regardless of what you wear, right? Might as well be comfortable." The younger woman shrugged.

Britta rolled her eyes. "It's not that, Annie. I'm just more comfortable like this." Annie smiled and nodded; she couldn't help but think that this was Britta's equivalent to her 'battle armor', it kept her guarded and on her toes. "So, why didn't you mention that you went on some hot date on Friday?"

The brunette, who was looking down at her smoothie and fiddling with her straw, lifted her head in surprise. "How do you know about that?"

The older of the two shrugged. "I think the real question is how do I only know about it now?" Her friend stared back, unappeased. "King Douche may have mentioned it."

Annie looked back down at her drink. "Oh, so you talk to Jeff often?" The moment the words escaped her mouth, Annie hated herself for them. There would always be a jealousy when she thought of those two, especially after their engagement. She quickly tried to recover. "I mean, I feel like I've completely ex-communicated myself from the group. It's nice to know everyone is keeping in touch, although apparently not at the Save Greendale meetings." She said the last part accusingly.

Britta plucked a fry from her tray and talked through the side of her mouth as she held her hands up in surrender. "Hey, we still attend; it's just that you are the only motivated one who keeps the group on track and without you, we are all kind of lost." Annie smiled at that. "So, come on, do I have to drag details from you?"

"I didn't want to make a big deal about it; it was only a first date."

"Tell me about him."

Reluctantly, she smiled. "His name is Timothy and he's really sweet, he's also funny, but in a witty way, not a goofy way." The blonde nodded. "He's got these dimples." Annie sighed. "We both work at CBI and we have had this subtle flirtation going on for the past couple of weeks and he asked me out for drinks."

"What did you wear?"

"That purple dress and some strappy heels."

"The dress we found last month?"

"Yep."

"I loved that one on you. I wish I could wear purple."

Annie laughed. "Why don't you? That dress would look great on you."

Britta laughed. "Come on, Annie, it's me we are talking about. If I wore something that colorful, I wouldn't even look like myself. Nah." She shook her head. "I'll stick with the dark grays and black. Anyway, how did it go?"

"It was fun; he is super easy to talk to, there were no lulls, which I think is some sort of miracle, considering how out of practice I am. He was a real gentleman too; he pulled out my seat and everything." It seemed as though Britta might utter something vaguely 'femi-nazi' esque, so Annie quickly continued. "And at the end of the night, he even walked me to the apartment."

"And, what happened?"

"Nothing much." She said shyly and Britta shoved her arm in response. "Okay, we kissed." She couldn't believe she was blushing, but a coy giggle still slipped out.

"And?" Her friend leaned in.

"It was nice and really, I guess I would say, sensual." She breathed. "It didn't last very long, we were interrupted."

"No! Let me guess, Winger?" She nodded. "That dumb bastard. He totally ruined the mood, didn't he?"

"Not at first. I didn't mind him clearing his throat." Britta looked annoyed. "Or him, trying to introduce himself." The annoyance grew to bafflement. "What really pissed me off was that he held the door and asked me if I was coming in, like I was on the clock or something." Britta now looked outraged.

"He did not!"

"He totally did. It was so embarrassing, and to make matters worse, he completely alienated Timothy, he didn't even make the move to shake his hand when I introduced them."

"How classless! What did you do?"

"I closed the door between us and said goodnight to Timothy, then I went inside."

"Good for you. I can't help but think that the story doesn't end there?"

"Of course it doesn't, it's Jeff we're talking about. He totally gave me the third degree and then called my date 'Tiny Tim'."

Britta groaned. "Ugh, what a douche!"

Annie nodded. "It is what it is. He didn't seem to scare off Timothy though, before he left he kind of asked me on a second date."

"Kind of?"

"It's an inside joke, but I think he might take me out to dinner." Annie took a bite of her now lukewarm hot dog.

"Well, that's good, right?" Annie nodded. "Inside jokes too? That seems promising."

Annie took a sip of her smoothie. "It's just nice to be around someone who makes it known that he likes me." She looked away, feeling ashamed at how telling that statement was. She couldn't see the look of empathy on Britta's face. "I mean, nowadays so many guys like to play games, you know?" Annie tried to amend her previous statement.

"Yeah, you know I was just telling some idiot the other day how important honesty is." Annie quirked her brow in curiosity, but Britta just shook her head and changed the subject. "So, I know the group is an exhausting, soul-sucking force, but will we see you at Shirley's 4th of July BBQ?"

"Of course." Annie smiled. "Holidays are always reserved for family."

Britta couldn't help but smile at Annie's genuine love for their little group. Moments like these reminded Britta that the Study Group was the closest thing Annie had to a family, which made her realize how brave this whole distance thing really was. Annie had very few people in the world to rely on, but she was determined to not cling to them and instead expand her life and circle of friends. "Why don't you bring Timothy?"

Annie looked flabbergasted. "Not likely. I think I'd bring Starburns first." Britta laughed. "Timothy and I have only been on one date and even though I know he would fit well in the group, I can't imagine ever being ready to introduce anyone to you guys, at least not formally. Plus, everyone is way too critical."

Britta mock gasped. "Critical, us?" They both laughed.

* * *

Jeff woke late on Sunday and saw one text waiting for him, it was from Britta. It simply read:

"You are such a douche!"

-B

He had no idea to what she was referring, though he couldn't help but think that either way, it was probably deserved in one form or another.


	5. Back to Work

Jeff leaned back in his desk chair and scrolled through Facebook. Annie hadn't posted anything in days and he couldn't quiet his irritation that he wasn't a part of her daily life and now he had no way of even knowing about it. He exited out of the app and began scrolling through his messages; it took several swipes down until he saw her name, he clicked on their message thread. The last group of texts were either given short and abrupt or non-existent replies. He scrolled even further, looking for something that expressed what they used to be like to one another. He smiled at a text that she had sent nearly two weeks before Greendale's near death experience.

"I just saw Professor Garrity in the hallway. He pointed finger guns at me lol. To night-school conspiracies." (Champagne glass emoji)

*~Annie~* \\(^_^)/

He had sent back a champagne glass emoji as if toasting her back. He couldn't help but smile at the ridiculousness of her signature; she really knew how to have fun with the smallest things.

Even further back, there were smaller messages. He found one that she had sent; warning him of some ludicrous scheme of the Dean's that she had stumbled upon when she discovered an obscene outfit in his office after returning his keys.

There was another where she had asked for his help in finding the person responsible for placing ads all over campus for an ultimate paintball tournament. He remembered that one, they had stopped it all before the flyer's intention could come to fruition; discretion had been key, because if anything could tear the school apart in an hour, it was paintball.

Another text was a picture she had sent of Chang watching a seemingly disturbing animated alien movie with Russian subtitles; underneath the picture were several question marks, followed by a text bubble that said:

"You think he's trying to learn how to 'phone home'?"

*~Annie~* \\(^_^)/

Jeff couldn't hide his own smirk. He had missed this, he missed Annie. His life felt more than empty, it was quiet, which is something he never expected, especially when he worked at Greendale.

"So, Willem Defoe, you're bringing snacks for D&D: Family Bonding Edition, right? Don't Fat-Dog it! *Nudge nudge."

*~Annie~* \\(^_^)/

God, he missed her. He exited out of the messages and soon found himself looking at group shots they'd all taken together. She was always so beautiful and even next to his snarky grins, she would smile genuinely. She had to think about him too, at least a little?

* * *

Annie refused to let herself think about Jeff and how he had infantilized her in front of Timothy. She straightened her blazer and clipped her hair halfway up. In the break room, Timothy smiled and watched her movements with great focus. She poured herself a cup of coffee and listened to some interns and junior employees talk about their weekend. "What about you Edison?" Sheila, a tall redhead with a pixie cut, asked.

Annie smiled and stirred her coffee. "Oh, I went on a date that ended with my friend embarrassing me."

Timothy smiled and the others offered halfhearted apologies and began swapping their own similar stories of humiliation and tactless friends.

As Annie walked out of the break room she could feel Timothy on her heels. "So it was a date, huh?"

Annie turned around and smiled playfully, walking backwards slowly. "Who said I was talking about you? I had a pretty busy weekend." She winked and turned back around, mid-step and headed off to her section. Timothy smiled at her retreating figure.

As Annie sat down, she felt her phone vibrate. She checked it and noticed the Facebook invitation Shirley had sent the group for the Independence Day BBQ. She clicked 'Going' and before she could put her phone away Jeff also accepted the invitation. She couldn't help but wonder if that was because he had his phone on him, or because he saw that she had accepted and realized that she had finally given her 'okay' to join in for a group activity. Who was she kidding, Jeff always had his phone on him; simple as that.

She smiled to herself, relieved. It seemed like everything was unchanged with her and Timothy, which meant he didn't let Jeff's rudeness bother him. For a brief second, while she put her phone away she remembered standing in that dark kitchen, feeling that pull from Jeff, even when she couldn't see him. She could smell his cologne when he leaned in to grab the milk. A shaky breath escaped her and she tried to tell herself that it was all in her head, she had felt drunk on him, but that was probably just the aftertaste of their fight and her body overreacting because she hadn't seen him in so long. It meant nothing, even if it didn't feel that way. It didn't matter, she was determined to kill off any feelings she had for Jeff that couldn't be classified as platonic.

When lunchtime rolled around, Annie was met with a wrapped turkey sandwich by Timothy. "Care to go over battle plans?" He grinned.

Annie smiled and took the sandwich. "Thanks. Does this mean we are forming an alliance?"

He shrugged. "Until we are the only two left and I turn on you, Hunger Games style."

"Hmm, I was thinking more Highlander style." She shrugged back.

"Ugh, a lady after my own heart." He nudged her. "Want to eat outside?"

"Sure." She grabbed her phone and a water bottle.

There was a small terrace outside the building with a few trees and some tables and benches. Timothy sat across from Annie. "So is this my upgrade?" She said before a large bite.

He smiled. "No, this is nothing. I'm so wealthy, I can afford a $3 sandwich without calling it a date; try not to swoon."

She laughed. "Good to know. I was afraid I'd never make it as a Gold-digger, but it seems I've hit the jackpot." She took a sip of her water. "Truly delicious, be sure to give my compliments to the chef."

"I'll let Ivan at the sandwich cart know that we're looking to make a reservation."

"So how was your weekend?" The question was meant to inquire post-date, but Timothy didn't take the hint.

He grinned. "I went on this date."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, with this terrible girl."

"Terrible how?"

"Not funny, incredibly boring." Annie just nodded along. "Hideous, truly. When she went to the bathroom, the bartender offered me a paper bag to put on her just so I could finish the date, without losing my lunch. She drank like a sailor, had to be dragged out of the bar, it was so embarrassing." He laughed. "Also, horrible kisser. She did not have amazing soft lips. So all in all, it was pretty awful."

Annie smiled now. "Well, that's what you get for double-booking your weekend."

Timothy looked surprised. "Aren't you cocky?"

"You said she wasn't funny, so you definitely couldn't be talking about me." She said smugly, taking another bite.

"How do you figure?"

"Oh, Timothy." She patted his hand. "I'm hilarious." She said patronizingly. "So much so that it leaves others at a disadvantage."

"And also clearly humble." He took a bite and Annie laughed lightheartedly.

* * *

If Jeff hadn't sincerely believed his job was on the line, he wouldn't be heading towards the Dean's office for what the email described as a 'Big Favor'. The moment he walked through the door and saw the Dean dressed in what looked like a perfect replica of Scarlet O'Hara's curtain dress, he couldn't silence the "Oh, God," that escaped his mouth.

"Nope, Dean, I am not helping you plan a Cotillion; especially after the fiasco the last one was."

"Oh, hush, Jeffrey." His boss gestured to the seat and fanned himself with an ornate hand fan. "This," he gestured to his clothes, "is not a Cotillion conversation piece." Jeff nodded eager with the direction the conversation was going. "I'm going to the bank today, so naturally," he twirled.

"You thought you would try to out-shock them with each visit?"

The Dean scoffed. "The people at the bank love my outfits, unlike you and your too-cool group; they appreciate the effort that goes in and the stylish result. And like I would ask for your help planning something that takes such finesse."

"Which is clearly more a strong suit of yours?" He gestured to the Dean and spoke sarcastically.

"Glad you noticed." He fake laughed. "I would go to Britta-" He shook his head, "No scratch that, I would go to Abed for help planning any event, before I would go to you. It takes dedication and you are King of Minimal Effort." He sighed. "And what a King you do make if I may say so?"

"Okay, I'm fading fast. Why am I here?"

"Because dreams do come true." The Dean still mumbled distractedly, which earned him a scowl from Jeff. "Anyway, Jeffrey, I need a favor."

He pulled out his phone and started a game of Candy Crush. "Yeah, the email mentioned that. What do you want?"

"I was hoping you could show around a new Professor that is taking over Duncan's position, since he has inexplicably disappeared." Jeff looked up slightly interested. The Dean looked at the file. "A Professor Stewart who taught at Columbia for 5 years."

Jeff choked on a breath. "Oh, you are so full of it. Why in the hell would a Professor with that prestigious, hoighty-toighty kind of gig, come to this accredited sewer?"

The Dean lifted his dress and sat down slowly with effort, leaning in. "I know, crazy, right? Just between you and me, Professor Stewart listed the reason as some kind of 'Family' thing; something about moving to be close to a sick parent, I think it's the mom."

Jeff clicked his tongue. "Sounds like a tough break." He looked away and thought for a second. "But, no."

"Jeffrey, please." The Dean pleaded and attempted the doe eyes. Jeff grimaced at the result. "Look, it is a miracle that Professor Stewart picked us over City College and you're one of the few advantages we have over them, plus you've been at this school as both a teacher and student, which makes you the perfect person to extol Greendale's virtues."

"Exactly, and there are none. Do you see a problem here?" He sat up, putting his phone away. "You would be better off picking a foreign exchange student who is just happy to be here." He thought for a second. "Hey, I think Pavel still lives in the dorms. Abed probably has his number."

"We have dorms?" The Dean stared. "Huh." He theatrically shook his head. "No, Jeffrey, it's got to be you."

"Frankly, my Dean, I don't give a damn." Jeff said full of irony. The Dean shook his head, disappointed. "Hey, that's funny." Right at that moment, a beep sounded.

"Dean?" A gruff, female voice inquired from the speaker at his desk.

"Yes, Rhonda?"

The disinterested voice replied. "The new Professor is here to see you." Jeff made eye contact with the Dean, shook his head and mouthed, 'No!'

The Dean smirked. "Send her in." Jeff didn't have time to be confused by the pronoun, before a leggy, redheaded bombshell walked in. She strode to the desk in 3 long steps and sat without giving the Dean a chance to offer her a seat. The Dean stood. "Professor Jenny Stewart, this is Jeffrey Winger, he's kind of like our on-site 'bad boy'." Jeff just shook his head, amazed that this man felt no embarrassment speaking 90% of the words that escaped from his mouth.

"For now…" Jenny said smoothly and reached her hand out.

Jeff smiled and shook it. When he released her hand, he looked between her and the Dean, who wasn't looking at them, but was incredibly preoccupied with a wrinkle on his dress that he was trying to smooth out. Jeff spoke under his breath. "This doesn't freak you out at all?"

Jenny smiled and the effect was pleasant; however it seemed more made up of cunning than amusement, and Jeff could read 'predator' in the expression. "I've been briefed about the Dean and honestly, I've seen stranger things."

He laughed. "I find that hard to believe." Once he noticed Jenny checking him out, he turned away and looked back at the Dean. "Have you forgotten that we are here?"

The Dean looked up and touched his gloved index finger behind his ear in his usual coy gesture. "Oh, Jeffrey, I could never forget you." He swished his dress side-to-side, mock bashful.

"Ugh."

"I actually wanted to ask you something about Annie." Jeff looked up as a matter of habit from hearing the name. "She hasn't registered for Fall semester yet, even though she is on first priority and I really need her opinion about some events I want to throw at the end of summer."

"So? Call her or talk to Abed, he's her roommate." Jenny was looking between both men, trying to follow the conversation that naturally flew over her head.

"She hasn't answered and Abed refuses to be go-between. He told me to talk to you."

The normally dressed man barely gritted his teeth. "I can't imagine why. I never see or talk to Annie. You'd have a better chance with Britta or even Shirley, if Abed won't help." "If that's all?" Jeff got up without being excused. "I'll see you at the meeting today." He nodded to the Dean and walked away.

It took him a moment to realize that Professor Stewart was following him in the hallway. He looked behind him and couldn't help but appreciate how she moved as if she belonged and not like she was tagging along. "What meeting?"

He sighed and spoke robotically as if reading from a cue card. "We have a meeting about twice a week with a small collection of longtime Greendale students and teachers, united with the purpose of improving the school." He returned to his usual, uninterested one. "It's kind of a ritual that we've uselessly clung to, even though we get nothing done lately."

"Why don't you getting anything done?"

He tried to look aloof. "We are currently missing the key member, who does all the organizing."

Jenny nodded. "Is that Annie?"

Jeff couldn't help but do a double take, amazed at how quickly Professor Stewart caught on, which he knew shouldn't surprise him. She was a Professor at Columbia after all. "Um, yeah."

"Girlfriend?" Jenny sounded genuinely interested.

Jeff didn't like the feeling of knowing that his eyes were pained, but he tried to smile. "No, longtime friend."

"How long?"

"A little over 5 years."

Jenny nodded. "So, who else is in this group?"

Jeff smiled at the change of subject. "My other friends and students here; Abed Nadir, Britta Perry and Shirley Bennett. The faculty we have on board are Ben Chang, Buzz Hickey and we used to have Ian Duncan, but he seems to be M.I.A. as you well-know. The Dean also likes to come in and throw his two cents around."

"Can I sit in on the meeting?" Jeff tensed at the thought. He could see the cat-like expression yet again that was aimed in his direction. This woman either wanted to devour him or sleep with him and either way his answer would be no. It wasn't that she wasn't stunning, because she was. With his luck, she was also emotionally closed off, afraid of commitment, and a scotch drinker, which is exactly what he wanted five years before, but not anymore.

"That probably wouldn't be the best idea. It would be a lot to catch up on; I mean, we're talking about Greendale Veterans, psychological scarring, PTSD, the whole nine yards." He tried to sound amused.

She licked her lips subtly and buttoned the cuff of her full-sleeved, white silk blouse. Her hair bounced as she glanced at him. "Oh, please, I'm more than up to the challenge. Plus, anyway, I am taking over for Professor Duncan and if he held a seat on your little committee, I think that makes this just one more duty that I inherit." She looked ahead. "The Dean also told me I should stick close to you if I want to learn the 'lay of the land' and it seems as though this meeting will expose me to several others who can help me better understand what life at Greendale is really like."

"Abridged version? It's terrible."

"Then why are you still here?" She rebutted.

"There are some things you just can't walk away from." He tried to sound vague.

"Some things or some people?" Her tone insinuated.

He stopped in the hallway and looked at her. "Both. I won't lie to you; this place kind of grows on you. I've made my own family from the friends I've met here. This place holds some of the dearest, craziest and most unforgettable memories. Now, this way to the cafeteria." He turned quickly, cutting off his own nostalgia.

"Oh, so he is sentimental?" Her voice was full of melodic humor. "From all accounts thus far, you are a callous, lazy and self-obsessed individual. Is that substance peeking out?"

Jeff smiled knowing that she had only been there a short time and his reputation had preceded him. "It's rare, but it happens." He shrugged. "The cafeteria; setting of paintball, hunger games and a food fight."

Jenny stopped and stared at him. "What?"

"It was a lawless time." He shook his head and sounded playfully burdened. "Library, next." He walked on, bored.

"So how long have you been teaching?"

"One school year. Here is the library." He gestured his arm like a female model showing off a new car in an episode of The Price is Right. "Study Room; setting of bottle episodes, a lie detector test, an afterschool special disguised as an epic D&D game and home of the Infamous Greendale Seven."

Jenny looked even more shocked than before. "Next, teachers' lounge."

"Greendale Seven?"

"Yes, a feared group of seven alluring individuals who took the school by storm; said to have been led by the devil himself. They overthrew a coup, found the secret trampoline and were the only members to ever win paintball."

"Paintball? Like shooting?"

Jeff shushed her, caught up in the school's history. "Don't let anyone hear you speak that word. It'll be anarchy, all over again." They went outside the library and headed towards the building that held the teachers' lounge. He pointed to a building off to the side. "The dorms; setting of numerous keggers, Kickpuncher marathons, and the birthplace of school-wide blanket and pillow forts."

Jenny made another face, but he continued, opening the door so she could enter into the building. "Teacher's lounge; setting of a legitimate treasure hunt, underneath that soda machine, that resulted in finding a once believed dead Dean who had been hiding for approximately 3 decades and possessed key documentation that saved the school from being sold to Subway." He took a breath, and waved his hands in the general direction of countless classrooms. "And several classrooms, some of which were setting to delivering a baby and an octogenarian professor attacking a student." He flinched and stopped for a second. "Actually, that was the same classroom." He thought. "So, any questions?"

Jenny looked flabbergasted and from the unease behind the expression, Jeff could tell it was not one she wore often. "Only about a million."

"We have a rich history at Greendale. At least, I think we do. Everything I mentioned has taken place since I have been here; so at least the past five years are rich in history."

"I thought you have been only working here for one year."

"I used to go here." He smiled. "I amazed you don't know that after hearing countless accounts of my character. It's usually the first thing said about me, you know, 'student turned teacher'." He made eye contact with her. "Things you need to know; stay away from Ben Chang, no matter what, he might seem nice, but it's really a mixed bag of insanity. Glee club is a sore topic for many in the school. Seriously, don't say 'Paintball'. There are three categories of Greendale faculty; Drunk, Angry and Angrily Drunk. Never insult Bare-naked Ladies, because it will become a whole thing. And even though this school is rampant madness, I'm still confident that the weirdest things that happen here all occur in the Dean's office. So, beware and have fun." He turned to walk away.

Jenny appeared in front of him. "That's it?"

"Well, that's as much as can be explained verbally. Plus, I have a class in a half an hour, which means I have 28 minutes to sit in my office and wonder where I went wrong in my life."

"Ah, so you are classified as Angry in the faculty category."

"One would think, but did I mention that I keep scotch in my desk and partake during my silent, depressed reflection?"

"So you're Drunk, then?"

"Not yet, but I'd like to be." He smiled.

She laughed. "So, what does a new professor have to do to get an invite to the office booze party?"

Jeff smiled and eyed her warily. "It's more of a solitary ritual."

She seemed resolute in her inquiry. "Look, I haven't been back to Colorado in almost twenty years and anybody I know who still lives here, I've outgrown. I have rerouted everything to be close to my mother. I'm experiencing ridiculous jitters and you seem the closest to normal that I am going to get in this Godforsaken school, so I would like to spend time, drinking and talking to you, to feel situated, if only for 20 minutes. Cool?"

Jeff opened his mouth, closed it and took a second, having noticed that the words felt genuine and hopeful. "Okay, fair enough, but don't expect stimulating conversation from me. That's really not my forte."

A laugh erupted from behind him as Neil passed, patting his shoulder. "Good one, Winger."

"Friend of yours?" Jenny nodded in the direction of the young man who was beyond hearing distance.

"We played an intense game of D&D together, so I guess you could say so."

"Friendship forged in the fires of tabletop role playing games?" He nodded. "Would this be the afterschool special you mentioned?"

He smiled. "You'd be surprised how much can be accomplished through a simple game of D&D."

Jenny held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I believe you. Now, where is the booze?"

"This way." He showed her to his office and shut the door. He pulled the bottle and two glasses from his desk, pouring the alcohol.

"If it is such a solitary ritual, then why two glasses?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Some days call for it. I hope you don't mind taking it neat. I don't have ice."

She grinned and held her hand out. "I wouldn't sully the scotch." She took a quick sip.

Jeff sat down in his seat and Jenny sat on a recliner in the corner, next to his desk. "So is this where I ask you your life story?" He said sarcastically.

"If you want; not much to tell."

"I doubt that. Columbia?"

She smirked. "Yes, Columbia. Let's see if I can do it too." She held up her index finger and took a breath. "Setting of a failed marriage, jarring mugging and the occasional fling with a frat boy." She shrugged.

"Okay, I see how annoying that must've been, because now I want an explanation."

"Nope, too late. You had your chance to be forthcoming." She took another sip satisfied with herself. "So what are the best social spots?"

"A friend of mine works at a pretty decent dive bar down the road. Some of us hang out there. There is also an okay Mexican restaurant called Senor Kevin's, but other than that…" He sighed. "Colorado is a bummer."

"Tell me something I don't know; I hoped that had changed since I left."

"Not in the least." He took a sip and looked at the glass resting in his hands. He wore a small smile.

When it was time to part, Jeff shook Jenny's hand. "What time is the meeting?"

Jeff gave up warning her. "5:30 in the Study Room I showed you earlier. Do you think you can find your way back there?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I'll probably go straight there and wait." She looked at her wristwatch. "It's almost 3 now, so I think I'll play on my phone in the meantime."

"When do you start classes?"

"Tomorrow, this was supposed to be my orientation, I guess you could say."

"Okay, so I'll see you there. We probably won't go over any official business though because-"

"You're missing Annie?" She said almost innocently.

Jeff took a second and nodded. "Yeah, because we're missing Annie."

She nodded, noticing the emphasis on 'we're'. "Well, this was fun and really kind of you to indulge me. I appreciate it." She started to head for the door and turned when her hand rested on the frame. "Maybe I can return the favor? Tonight, possibly?" She spoke, seemingly blasé.

Jeff tried to put off the invitation, easily. "You know, I actually can't, but thanks for the offer."

She nodded and slipped out the door. "Okay, see you at the meeting."

"See you."

Jeff half-assed, well more like, quarter-assed his way through class, spending even less effort than usual. He felt annoyed that he would meet a woman like Jenny at this point in his life, but also relieved that the temptation barely reached him. He had been correct in guessing her interest in him, which was a compliment to his ego. She seemed nice enough, even if something about her screamed, 'on the prowl.'

At a quarter 'til five, his class ended and he went into the teachers' lounge to make himself some coffee, making sure that he didn't reach the Study Room too early. He leisurely walked to the Library and walked in to find the Study Room full with the Save Greendale Committee 5 minutes before 5 o'clock.

Jenny was sitting in Shirley's seat and Abed stared at her in a hawk-like fashion. "That's Shirley's seat, you can't sit there." He said matter-of-factly.

Everyone stared back at him, appalled by the bluntness with which he spoke to the complete stranger. "Oh, I'm sorry." Jenny said, a little thrown off by his tone.

"Abed!" Shirley chided. "That's okay." She started to speak to Jenny. "It's not that big a deal, really. He just gets very sensitive about the details." She sweetly explained.

"I get it." Jenny tried to move over one seat.

Abed yelped a loud, resounding, "Nope!" This time, Jeff couldn't help but agree as Jenny hovered over Annie's seat. "That's Annie's seat, you can't have Annie's seat." He sounded overly defensive.

"Oh, Annie's seat." Jenny looked at the spot and glanced at Jeff. She then turned to Abed. "Where can I sit?"

"The spot next to it is free." He said indifferent, as if he hadn't just forced her into a game of singular musical chairs.

The redhead looked at Jeff and smiled. He nodded reassuringly. "Okay, before we sit here and stare at our phones for an hour, I would like to introduce you all to Professor Jenny Stewart; she will be Ian Duncan's replacement."

"Interesting development." Abed mumbled loud enough for Jeff to hear as he looked back and forth between the two professors.

Jeff sat and Jenny spoke standing beside him. "You heard the basics from Jeff." She gestured. "I taught Psychology at Columbia for 5 years, until I had to leave this past month to move closer to my mother, because she had a stroke." She took a second and nodded acknowledgment to the several murmurs of apologies and well-wishes. "She's doing a little bit better, but I know she needs me around. I look forward to what I have been warned will be a truly unique experience." She nodded in Jeff's direction. "I hope I can fill Professor Duncan's shoes."

There were snorts and scoffs of laughter and snide comments all around the table. Someone said, "That won't be hard."

Jenny looked at Jeff. "I don't understand." She whispered.

"He was 'Drunk'. More like King of the Drunk."

"Ah, I see. Good to know the expectations are doable, then." She sat down. "Thank you all."

She whispered to Jeff. "Introductions?" Britta watched the exchange closely.

"Introduce yourselves." Jeff was staring at his phone again.

While all the members simply called out their names, Abed stood and addressed their new addition. "My name is Abed Nadir. I've been told my behavior is a little disconcerting and I am apprehensive to what your presence will do to our dynamic."

"Okay?" The reply was hesitant.

The meeting went on and like Jeff had said, very little business was actually done. After they dismissed, Jenny patted Jeff on the arm and offered him another thanks for the day.

He left the library and swung by his office. Britta was directly on his heels. "What the hell?"

"What, Britta?"

"What was that about?"

"What?"

"Come on, Winger. You know what I mean; the professor."

"Her name is Jenny, Britta."

"Yeah, I got that. You realize she is into you, right?" She sounded intrigued, not angry like he had originally thought.

"The realization had crossed my mind."

"And?"

"And what, Britta? Am I supposed to jump at the opportunity to go out with any woman I meet?"

"I would think so, especially when they look like that." She replied enthusiastically. "Hell, I would go out with her."

Jeff smiled. "Somewhere, Pierce's ghost is high-fiving himself."

"Oh, shut up. I'm not gay, you douche." She huffed. "You're being weird. She is like so your type."

"So?" He shrugged.

"So?!" Britta looked at him for a second, before something clicked in her eyes and her entire expression changed. "Oh, my God! It's worse than I thought."

His gut clenched. "What?"

"You're like, really into her."

"Who, Jenny?" He hoped that's what Britta was ramping up to.

"Ugh, give me more credit." She shook her head. "This is like genuine and too weird for me to witness, so I'm going to pretend we never had this conversation, okay?"

"Well, according to your guidelines, this doesn't count as a conversation, remember?"

She slugged his arm. "Shut up, Winger." She walked away shaking her head and loudly mumbling, "Idiot."

* * *

 **A/N - So I just wanted to take a second to say thank you for the reviews that you have given me. I was originally worried about posting this story thinking that nobody would even bother reading, but it's nice to know that a couple people already have. The reviews are deeply appreciated; with the way this is set up it's hard to know whether or not people are actually reading/following the story, so if there are any who are reading and not reviewing, I hope you are enjoying it to. Feel free to leave a review as simple as, "I'm reading!" Believe it or not, it makes my day; as I have written several fanfictions and this is my first time posting. This story is finished; however I am going over each chapter before I post it. This will roughly translate to a chapter a day, except for the last day, in which I will post both the 14th (Final Chapter) and the Epilogue.**

 **Sorry about the long note. Again, thank you. If you have any questions or things you would like clarified, I will do my best to do a ' brief' A/N to explain.**


	6. Second Date

**A/N - I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone reading this what UST means, because hello, if you belong to this ship you live and breathe it; however, my cousin said I should probably cover it anyways.**

 **UST - Unresolved Sexual Tension {In other words, the thing that ships are made of. LOL}**

 **Again, please feel free to R &R. Feedback sustains me. Thank you!**

* * *

On Wednesday, Annie sat with Timothy again, for the third time, during lunch. He was attentive, appropriately flirtatious and so easy to talk to. She asked him about his plans for the 4th of July, that coming Saturday. He smiled and mentioned something about an old friend's block party.

She nodded, seemingly interested, until she interrupted the second he finished talking. "So, when do I get my upgrade?" She chided humoredly.

"Oh, if only I had known you were so eager, I wouldn't have deprived you for so long." He smiled smugly.

"Ha, ha, ha." She smiled. "Seriously?"

"Okay, what about tomorrow night? I can pick you up around 8?"

"Well, now who is eager?" She laughed, as if she had seamlessly played hard to get.

"You caught me." He surrendered, taking a sip of his coffee.

* * *

Jeff had done his best to avoid Jenny Stewart. She was great, which made the decision seem all the more ridiculous. It wasn't as if being around or even being with Jenny made him unfaithful to Annie, there wasn't anything to be unfaithful to. Regardless, he just couldn't allow himself to forget how he felt about Annie and that kept him from thinking about anyone else. It was exhausting and uncontrollable like some terminal disease with debilitating symptoms.

He sat in his office flipping through the textbook for his class, bored beyond belief. No students ever visited his office hours, mainly because nobody ever needed Planet Earth videos to be clarified for them. On the off chance that he did actually stoop to teaching, it was always very basic material that he made sure to thoroughly explain.

His phone went off and he noticed Annie's name; it was a text to the group.

"Should I bring anything for the BBQ?"

*~Annie~* \\(^_^)/

Shirley quickly replied with soda and an irrelevant emoji. Abed offered to bring buttered noodles and Jeff couldn't help but smile, knowing the expression that text had surely received from Shirley. Britta offered to go with Annie and Shirley to buy some new bathing suits the following night. Annie asked to reschedule to Friday, claiming that she would be busy on Thursday evening. Britta and Shirley then nosily spammed her about her plans.

After Jeff read about her upcoming second date with Timothy, he turned his phone on silent and placed it face down on his desk. He definitely wasn't gritting his teeth. This whole Annie thing was just about all he could think about. Right then, a knock interrupted his self-pitying. He turned in his chair thrilled for the distraction.

Jenny offered a smile and sat in a seat across from him. "So, is this where you are always hiding out?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much. Greendale's been kind of boring lately."

"Boring?" She crossed her legs and the skimming of her slacks made a pleasant crisp sound. "Yesterday, I was ambushed by the Hat Club."

"They still exist?" He pursed his lips and nodded. "Good for them."

"And on my way here, I was accosted by group of senior citizens."

"The hipsters? I thought Leonard was the only one left alive."

Right then, he could hear the elderly man stick his tongue out and make a fart noise as he passed the office. "Don't take it as an accomplishment! The science department has been talking about using your remains as fossil fuels, you prehistoric relic!" He shouted.

Jenny jerked her thumb behind her in the direction that Leonard had just left from. "What is that about?"

"I don't know; we've always hated each other. I vaguely remember it having something to do with macaroni. I'm not sure." He shook the thought away. "What's up?"

"Are all the rumors true?" She leaned in, intrigued.

"Depends, what ones?"

"You faked your law degree and when you were found out you had to come to Greendale?"

"True."

"Two women confessed their love for you at the Tranny Dance?" She slowly pronounced the name, unsure. "Is that really what it was called?"

"True and true." He shrugged.

"Did you choose one of them?"

"No, I ran away and went outside." He offered.

"Brave." She grinned.

"I thought so." He laughed.

"And isn't that when you kissed Annie?"

Jeff froze and looked at Jenny for a good second, trying to decipher if this woman was friend or foe. "Did Abed have you watch his Community College show?" Maybe she had talked to Leonard.

She clapped her hands. "So it is true!" She sat up smugly. "Oh, and yes, he did."

Jeff sighed. "It was a long time ago and she kissed me, not like it matters, four years later."

"Okay, fine. You got Chang fired the first time?"

Jeff chewed on his lip for a second. "False. Technically, Annie got him fired. He thought it was me and then attacked my car with a keytar."

"You're shitting me?"

"Also false." He grinned cheekily.

"Paintball?"

"I won the first game if that's what you're asking?"

"Which would make you a member of the Greendale Seven?" She calculated.

"False." She looked puzzled. "I was the leader."

"The Devil himself?"

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He chuckled. "No, it was a Study Group I started my first semester. It was me and six others; I originally started with hopes of sleeping with this girl in my Spanish class."

"Smooth." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, say what you will, but it eventually worked." He laughed. "But at first, I was kind of blindsided by the other members. They let me stick around and we just sort of became a family."

"Do I know any of them?"

"It's pretty much the entire Save Greendale committee, minus the faculty. We also lost two members last year; Pierce Hawthorne died at the beginning of our fifth year."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, no it's fine. He was about 70 and an offensive, racist and sexist horndog, but he could be a lot of fun on accident." He took a breath. "Troy Barnes is currently sailing across the world with LeVar Burton."

"Okay, you have to be shitting me this time?"

Jeff lifted his hand as if swearing. "No, really. He inherited the majority of Pierce's fortune and the main stipulation was that he would sail across the world like Pierce was supposed to when he was younger. LeVar Burton was hired to go with him to make sure he follows the conditions."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"It's not, but we all miss him, especially Abed."

"They were close?"

"Like two grown men who slept in bunk beds, close."

"I don't know whether 'ew' or 'aw'is the appropriate response."

"I'd say that sentence right there is the best way one would describe their friendship."

"Okay, so who was the girl you were trying to sleep with?"

He laughed at how absurd it now seemed. "Britta."

"Really? I would've never guessed; you guys just don't seem-"

"And we weren't which is why that was doomed from the start."

"Was it all as fun as it sounds?"

"Even more so."

"If you had to pick the most enjoyable escapade, what would it be?"

"That's too hard." He thought for a second. The conspiracy theory night class had been fun and the Pillow/Blanket fort war had been epic. "Has anyone ever told you the story of the famed Ass Crack Bandit?"

* * *

Annie fixed her lipstick and straightened her black camisole. After Timothy had mentioned going to dinner somewhere casual, she had decided to wear something less dressy. She double-checked her clipped hair and turned to look in the bathroom mirror. The dark denim jeans hugged her body and her stilettos gave her just the right amount of height. She walked back up to their table in the bar section. A baseball game was on in the background, but had only drawn a small crowd so it was still quiet enough to hear one another.

Her margarita was at the table and so were their appetizers. She sipped on the frozen beverage and dunked a mozzarella stick in ranch. Timothy watched her chew. "Help yourself."

"Thank you." She said expectantly.

"So you said that you go to Greendale? What's it like? Is that where you met your friends?"

Annie finished chewing and took another sip. "I don't know if I should tell you about Greendale."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll think I was a member in the MK Ultra program."

Timothy laughed, even more curious from her reference. "That crazy?"

"Worse. It's been so weird for me to be away from it, though. It's like I'm so used to insanity, that I'm suspicious of normality."

He nodded, almost understanding what she meant; it was easy to believe that one's environment was the norm. "Okay, well, what about your friends? Still too crazy?"

She bobbed. "Not as bad as Greendale itself, but I'd say they're a close second." She spoke with fondness and playfulness. "But they're all so special to me; they're more like family, than friends." She took a deep breath and launched into the stories of her surrogate kin.

Annie lit up when she talked about the 'Greendale Seven', as they were once called. Timothy smiled in response as she spun her small tales. They all seemed quite the characters. Pierce who had recently passed, seemed very dear to her; Timothy could tell from her use of certain euphemisms – 'eccentric' (weird), 'lonely' (off-putting), 'old-fashioned' (racist or sexist; probably both), 'child at heart' (immature) – that he was very likely the most troublesome of the group.

She seemed to miss Troy's 'unintentional levity' (dopiness) and praised Abed's 'unique' (weird) personality. Annie briefly mentioned Shirley's 'maternal' (controlling) characteristics. Timothy could tell that it bothered her quite a bit by the briefness with which she talked about it. He gathered that it had something to do with her being the youngest of the group which meant she was probably subjected to it the most. Britta received the least amount of adjectives, not for lack of fondness, he noticed, she simply seemed unable to articulate the woman's personality through words, although she did say she was 'modern' (whiny hipster).

Lastly, she mentioned Jeff. She said very little and her tone seemed to convey nothing; Timothy would've loved to leave it at that, but he saw it. Annie didn't intentionally give anything away, but he noticed how her eyes almost sparkled when she said his name. Only after he read the tenderness in her eyes did he notice the restraint in her voice and expression. He couldn't help himself. "So is Jeff like an ex or something?"

To Annie's credit, she almost looked surprised. "No, not even close." She smiled, but the sparkle faded and her eyes seemed empty. "We had a very brief, one-sided flirtation – I guess you could say – years ago." Timothy found that hard to believe. At the end of their first date, Jeff looked at Annie like she was a former, well actually more like a current lover, but Timothy knew better of Annie's character than to suspect her of infidelity. Plus, if that were the case there would have been a more obvious direct reaction from Jeff, although his eyes had said so much, speaking in a dialect of jealousy Timothy had both read and spoken before.

Annie must've been incredibly dense or unsure if she couldn't see that her 'just friend' was crazy about her. As much as it irked Timothy, he knew that he had to bow out because it seemed very likely that Annie felt the same way.

It was a shame; Annie was funny, smart, kind and annoyingly enough, drop dead sexy. She was the type of girl you took home to meet your mother, but that you could easily see yourself spending the whole weekend in bed with. Jeff was a lucky guy.

Timothy continued to be pleasant throughout the night, trying his best to be a good sport and not a sore loser. He genuinely laughed when Annie tried to grab the check. It was easy to tell that she wasn't used to going on dates, which made him irritated with Jeff and brought validity to her statement of one-sided flirtation. He acquiesced slightly after much probing and allowed her to pay the tip.

Having come to understand Annie pretty well, her date could guess that the tip she gave their waiter was an obscene percentage, since it was the only way he would let her financially contribute.

After the subject of her friends, they talked about work gossip, upcoming events and what other interns (besides themselves, of course) that they found to be the most promising. It was all light-hearted, fun and easygoing. Timothy walked her to her apartment building and halted his approach. Annie abruptly stopped and her eyebrows knitted in response. Before she could lean in, he chastely kissed her on the cheek. "I had fun. See you at the office. Night." He tried to hurry away, but had the misfortune of seeing her expression before he turned his back. She looked embarrassed and stung. He waved goodnight, smiling in her direction until he pulled away from the curb.

Abed had always been damned to notice the details and that night was no exception. He heard one set of feet shuffle complacently towards the door, followed by the briefest and most genuine of key jingles and a heavy sigh before the turn of the doorknob. Annie entered the apartment alone, looking downtrodden. This was a tricky situation; he knew that he could decipher the meaning behind the details, but the knowledge didn't include what course of action was smartest to take.

Her usual Annie-ness looked flattened, so Abed couldn't stop the question that popped out. "So, how did it go?" He sensed that the disappointment he was feeling was empathy.

Annie let out a second sigh that emanated from somewhere near her stomach and came out as a guttural groan. Abed had a 50/50 chance of making the right move, he simply had picked the wrong one, he realized as he suffered through the sound. He immediately wanted to retreat, but knew the action would be futile, so he waited with bated breath for the remnants of her 'sigh' to dissipate and leave them in silence.

"So, I'm guessing that means you don't to talk about it?"

Annie quickly shuffled over and haphazardly dropped herself onto the couch with a huff. "He doesn't like me."

Abed couldn't hide his confusion. "The way your last date ended would suggest otherwise."

"Abed." She breathed. "He barely even walked me to the apartment building, he kissed me-"

Abed held his finger up to stop her. "See, I told you he-"

"On the cheek." She continued.

Abed felt his face fall in response. "Oh." He let his finger drop.

"And he just said he would see me at the office. No plans for another date." Abed guessed she was pouting.

"So?" Abed shrugged. "If he doesn't see your appeal, he is a lost cause."

She smiled, so Abed could tell that fortunately she had taken the comment as a compliment. "Why should it matter, you went on 2 pleasant dates with a nice guy and it went nowhere? You're 24. The majority of dates at this time in your life are meant to go that way. It's not surprising. In fact, it's overdue." She laughed. "So keep doing what you're doing."

Her smile was bashful and Abed could see her hesitance. He wasn't the best at Winger-esque speeches. Her eyebrows pulled together and he could tell she was thinking hard. He could understand her frustrations. Timothy was meant to be a distraction from Jeff and now he was pulling away, which no doubt had to do with the atmosphere he had to have noticed brewing between Jeff and Annie after their first date. Abed, who considered himself part-robot (so, cyborg) even felt the UST saturating the room around Jeff and Annie, it would definitely make an outsider, unused to the dynamic, uncomfortable. He couldn't help but ask the question that had been nagging at him for the past few days. "So have you thought about it?"

She looked confused. "It was an acceptance letter, wasn't it?" He couldn't fake ignorance any longer.

Her eyes widened and then she looked down, not trying to deny it. "Um, yeah. It seems like a great opportunity. I'm just not sure." Her brows were twisted with contemplation and Abed couldn't help but wonder if she was really as uncertain as she acted. He could see the nuances pulling and playing at her face, but he wasn't sure if it was as easy to translate as it was to notice. This wasn't him noticing the way Britta's eyes would linger over Troy's chair, the way Annie would tense at the mention of Jeff's name, or the way he had just barely seen Jeff looking at Annie that day in the bunker as the door opened. It was more delicate and he knew that Annie feared how he would handle even more change. She would go to great lengths to not disturb the peace he had finally found after Troy's departure.

"Don't stress about it. Aren't you going shopping with Britta and Shirley tomorrow? That's fun, right?" He reassured.

Annie grinned and hugged the awkward man. "You're right. Thanks, Abed."

* * *

 **A/N - Thank you so much for the guest review. On my word document I had all the POV's split up, but it seems that somehow in the upload process the site deleted my dividers, so I have decided to re-upload the chapters. Nothing new has been posted, not until 6/22/17, but I am replacing the chapters. I'm sorry for the inconvenience; I can't imagine how confusing that must've been. Hopefully, this doesn't alter anything else. However, now I know that upload means one more step. lol**


	7. 4th of July

**A/N - Nothing of real importance; I just wanted to say that this was pretty much my favorite chapter to write. I hope it is enjoyed.**

 **Again, please R &R. It means a lot to me to know that the story is being read. Thank you so much!**

* * *

Annie stood in the kitchen filling up the ice chest she had just bought with soda. "Abed, you better be ready to leave in the next five minutes, okay? I want to get there early so we can help Shirley set up."

Abed leaned over the counter and spoke as if he was there all along, Annie couldn't help but jump and yelp in surprise. "Isn't the whole point of being someone else's guest that you don't have to do all the work? I mean, we throw something here I have to help prep and clean-up, and we go over there and I have to help prep and clean-up. What's the point?"

"The point," She grunted as she lifted and began pouring a large bag of ice into the chest. "Is to go out of your way to always help or be there for your friends." She breathed. "I mean, what's the point of me listening to you talk about Die Hard once a day?"

Abed turned and began walking away. "Because it is objectively near cinematic perfection and my in-depth analysis enriches your life?"

She laughed. "Or maybe I listen just because you want to talk about it and I like to support my friends?"

"Support or appease?" He called out a little sour.

"Depends on what kind of day we're having." She took a tired breath and continued the work.

Abed came back to the kitchen and started helping her, lifting effortlessly. "How about I support you with this, and you appease me by admitting that Die Hard is amazing?"

Annie giggled and patted his shoulder. "Die Hard is the best movie I have ever been privileged enough to watch."

"Ease up, Annie. No one likes a brown-noser." He said indifferently. She scoffed and left the kitchen to grab some sunblock and pack a quilt.

Shirley had decorations set up and had Elijah and Jordan helping with hors d'oeuvres in the dining room. Even though Shirley was mostly ready, she was thankful for the assistance. Abed's reluctance was evident so she sent him to go help the boys finish up the snacks. Annie joined her in the kitchen.

As Shirley worked on her macaroni salad, Annie began working on the fruit salad. "Thanks for bringing the soda. I really appreciate it."

Annie grinned. "Oh, it's nothing; I feel like I should've done more."

Her friend moved around her grabbing a dish from the cupboard. "You are."

She shrugged. "Didn't you love Britta's swimsuit?"

The older woman nodded and hummed. "Mm hmm. It seemed such a feminine choice for Brit-ta."

"But what's up with the one piece?"

"There's nothing wrong with a little modesty." She accused, adopting a deeper tone to her voice.

"Agreed." Annie acknowledged. "But does that sound like Britta?"

"No, not really." Shirley thought. "It's probably just like how she gets about dressing provocatively for Halloween."

"That makes sense." Annie nodded, finishing off the fruit salad.

The hostess started peeling the potatoes and Annie joined her when Abed came in. "We finished."

The brunette turned to face him. "Then call the boys in and you guys can shuck the corn." He groaned and quickly trudged back into the dining room.

Shirley giggled delightedly. "I swear, he reminds me of my boys." She shook her head wistfully. "You'll make a great mom someday, with the way you handle that one." She nodded in the direction their friend had gone.

Annie laughed. "Oh, that's way far off, but thanks."

Shirley patted her back twice. The boys came in and started shucking. It seemed they had decided to make it some kind of competition. Elijah won and the two other boys became poor sports about it. "Stop booing." The younger woman chided.

"Go outside, I release you." Their mother made a fanning gesture beckoning them to the backyard.

All three boys ran out excitedly. Not ten seconds later, a loud "Cannonball!" could be heard through the sliding glass door.

Just then the doorbell rang. "Andre, honey, could you get that?" She called out.

"Where's Ben?" Annie continued peeling.

"He's taking a nap upstairs. Thank the Lord for it too. That child was giving me a migraine."

Britta came into the kitchen. "Hi." She enthusiastically called and hugged her two friends. "Where's Abed?"

Annie looked in the direction of the pool. "He's probably playing Marco Polo with Elijah and Jordan out back."

"Ooh, fun." The blonde exclaimed moving towards the sliding glass door. She then noticed the work Annie and Shirley were doing. "Or if you guys need my help, I can-"

"Go," Both women said at the same time, excusing Britta, who had been wearing a kicked puppy expression. She smiled and hurried out the door thankful for the permission.

"Sorry to have you slaving away in here with me."

"Oh, please. I want to help. Plus, they play too rowdy and I'm just not up for that yet."

"I wonder where Jeffrey is?" Shirley turned to look at the clock on the stove.

Annie grabbed a knife and began chopping the potatoes on a cutting board as Shirley tossed the peels. "Oh, you know Jeff, he has to be fashionably late to everything. He probably spent forever picking out the perfect outfit that exudes apathy."

* * *

Jeff drove around the block for the third time, just to make sure he wasn't too early. It had taken him a while to pick out his outfit. He wanted to look nice, but not like he was trying too hard. Eventually, he just gave up and wore a white undershirt with an open white casual button-up. He tried buttoning it up, but felt like it looked stuffy. His dark shorts went to just above his knees. The resulting look was both relaxed and comfortable so he decided to take that as a win, even if he didn't look his best.

Andre opened the door and let him know that everyone was out back. Jeff walked outside and slipped the 2 six packs of beer into an ice chest. He decided to not mention or show the Shirley the beverage, if only to avoid a possible issue.

He saw almost everyone sitting at a large shaded patio table, besides Abed who was splashing in the pool. Annie was missing. He sat beside Britta, who was lounging in a black one piece with white patterned daisies. "'Sup, Winger?"

"Not much." He was able to sit still for twenty seconds before he felt like getting up. "Want a beer?"

"Sure." He stood and went to the ice chest, coming back with two beers.

When he sat back down, Annie walked through the back door. Britta offered him thanks as she began sipping on her drink. Annie slipped her phone into her back pocket. Jeff tried not to stare, but found it difficult. She wore a red sleeveless button up (which was slightly see-through and her patriotic bikini peeked beneath) that tied in a knot just above her bellybutton. She had on blue high-waist shorts and white converse. A smile decorated her face as she grabbed herself a drink from the ice chest.

He had never seen her look so casual and carefree. Restraining himself from chasing her down, he planned to make his rounds first. He nearly made it through.

Britta beside him seemed reluctant to talk and kept turning her head around to look at Annie as if she knew where he'd rather be. She also might've just been following his gaze. Either way, Britta became bored with Jeff very quick.

Abed was on his way back to the pool from the bathroom. When intercepted by Jeff, all he wanted to talk about was the new film club he had joined. After looking away from Abed and towards Annie for the second time, Abed huffed slightly and said, "Just go talk to Annie." He then mumbled under his breath. "At least she pretended to be interested." As he walked away, Jeff patted him on the back.

He took a deep breath and then decided two more were necessary before he approached. Her hair was up with a few soft tendrils tickling her face and neck. She turned to see him and although the smile remained, her eyes became guarded and Jeff hated how it seized his gut. "Happy 4th, Edison." The second the words escaped his mouth, he regretted it.

Annie's expression changed and her eyes were filled with humor and Jeff realized he had no problem making a fool of himself for that reaction. She giggled. "Thanks, Winger." She took a sip from her can of Ginger Ale. "That makes it sound like we're working stiffs who bumped into each other at the water cooler." He smiled, but the movement felt stiff. She gestured between the two of them. "We're good, right? I mean, resolved?"

He nodded, although he felt like nothing could be further from the truth. "Of course."

Annie looked him up and down for a second and he suddenly wished he had spent the extra 10 minutes picking his clothes out. Her face was solemn as she spoke. "You were right."

His gut tightened at her expression and the tone of her voice. "What?"

"You really don't look cool in shorts." She grinned.

"Wow, ouch." The relief manifested into a genuine smile. "Not all of us can wake up camera ready, okay?"

"Why, thank you." She gestured to her person. "I call this look, 'I couldn't put on makeup because my roommate took too long in the bathroom'." She smiled. "However, I'm wearing 'That same roommate ruined my new outfit, so I just had to make do.'"

Jeff nodded listening intently. "Very chic. I hear that's all the rage in Milan right now." He gulped from his beer.

Her laugh resonated through the air between them and caused him to laugh as well. "So, how is the internship going?"

She took a sip. "Really well, I mean it's mostly secretarial work, but every now and then I get to sit in on some meetings and I'm almost a pro with the jargon."

"It doesn't surprise me that you'd catch on quick."

She blushed. "I do okay." They headed for the table. Annie ignored the direction Jeff was walking towards at the head of the table. There was an empty space next to him, similar to where Annie sat in the Study Room. She neglected it in favor of what would usually be Abed's seat. Jeff tried not to seem wounded.

She set her phone and soda down and pulled sunscreen from the middle of the table. As she untied the knot and began unbuttoning her shirt, everything in Jeff's head screamed to look away; he couldn't. He justified that if he abruptly looked away, it would receive attention, so he allowed himself to barely look. When she seductively (to him at least) shimmied the fabric off one shoulder and to the next, he hated himself for how drawn he was to the movement and how he knew the motion would haunt him. She tossed the shirt over the back of the chair and unzipped her shorts, sliding them slowly off her hips and down her toned legs. She moved away from the table and began spraying carefully all over her body. The devil on his shoulder wished she had brought lotion, so he could slather it thoroughly over every inch of her skin, the angel on his shoulder was thankful that he wasn't in a position to face that temptation, for certain knowledge he would fail. "Sunscreen?" She looked up and Jeff looked at his phone. "Britta?"

"Good idea. I burn way too easy." Britta took the bottle and stepped away to cover herself in the protectant. Annie undid the clip and her hair cascaded down and Jeff suddenly realized he was staring again as he felt himself gulp, not sure when he had become so parched.

Britta and Annie walked towards the pool behind the table. Jeff turned his chair and watched in interest as Britta slowly dipped her foot in and walked down two steps, knee high. To his surprise, Annie kept walking until she was at the deep end. He never would've figured her for a 'jump right in' kind of gal. He waited for her dive and found himself yet again amazed as she stood on the diving rock and did a front flip into the water. She resurfaced like some vixen in a 90's movie, but the vision was lost when she let a loud shiver erupt from her.

She swam like a pro to the shallow end where she beckoned Britta to just dunk in. He watched her take in a breath and submerge herself again as her feet kicked up in the air. He knew it would be too easy to just sit and watch her swim around, especially as she came up for air again and began to swim on her back. The view of her fit, toned and flawless alabaster skin was much too distracting. The flag pattern print of her bikini had him feeling more patriotic in that moment than he ever had before. He knew somebody had to have noticed his ogling by now, so he turned back around and finally paid some attention to his beer, which he felt he needed now more than ever.

Shirley was looking at him for a brief second with a mysterious expression on her face. It fell and she took a sip of her water. She looked at her phone and excused herself to go wake up Ben from his nap. He sat alone at the table and decided that it justified another peek at the pool. Annie was splashing Abed and laughing loudly.

Five minutes later Andre shouted that the food was ready. Elijah, Jordan, Abed, Britta and Annie filed out of the pool. Jeff followed them to the food table and began making a plate for himself. Annie chatted away with Britta and dripped all over him. He could see the tiny goosebumps forming on her as a light breeze of wind blew through them.

They sat and ate in a companionable near silence. The boys sat at their own table. Abed sighed sadly sitting in what should've been Annie's seat, while looking over at what should have been Troy's. Shirley patted his shoulder, lifted her water and offered a toast to the members that were missing and wished them well wherever they were. Annie smiled comfortingly at Abed; he tried to return the gesture, but could only manage his equivalent.

About 10 minutes later, Shirley grinned looking at her friends all across the patio table. "So, what do you think is the deal with the new Professor?" Jeff didn't react; he was too busy noticing the way the sunlight was cast, angled against Annie's face as she towel dried the still dripping ends of her hair.

Her brows pulled together in confusion. "What new Professor?"

"Professor Jenny Stewart, she's taking over for Duncan." Shirley oozed.

"What ever happened to him?" Annie said, concerned.

"He's probably on some new rehab stint." Britta offered.

"Well, I'll pray for God to grant him success over the temptation of liquor."

"Here, here." Jeff lifted his beer in a mock toast and smirked at the glare it received from Shirley.

"Anyway," Annie shook her head. "What's she like?"

"She's really pretty; she has red hair and she dresses very sharply, but beyond that there's not much we know. She's only started earlier this week." Shirley said.

"That's not all we know..." Britta huffed. "She's more than just a pretty face; she used to teach at Columbia."

"Wow." Annie acknowledged.

"Oh and she's go the hots for Jeff."

"Shut up, Britta." Jeff sipped on his beer acting bored. It was so like Britta to do something like that.

"What? She totally does." The blonde defended.

"And?" Annie verbally nudged, outwardly unfazed, much to Jeff's annoyance. "How's that going?"

"It's not."

"Why not? She sounds like your type."

"So?" Jeff was passed irritated and now verging on angry. "What, just because your love life is going so well, everyone else is expected to fall on the proverbial grenade?" Jeff tried to hide how bothered he was, to little avail.

"Jenny is so not a grenade." Britta chimed in.

"I was talking about relationships."

"Who mentioned anything about relationships? We were trying to hint at attraction, flirting, dates; you know, casual and fun." Annie countered.

"Well, I already said I'm not looking to date." Jeff breathed, making eye contact with Annie.

Shirley gasped. "Wait, when did you say that?"

Annie replied still looking at Jeff. "He mentioned it last week."

"He did?" Shirley's mouth was almost agape.

"Yes, I did." He looked away.

"Well, excuse me for not taking it seriously when Greendale's resident lothario vows a life of chastity." Annie accused.

"Why do you all care so much if I start dating or not?" Jeff wanted to change the subject, but held Annie's eyes.

"Because some of us actually want to see our friends happy and don't dwell on petty jealousy ploys for attention." She sneered.

Abed looked back and forth and spoke quietly to Shirley. She nodded. "Yeah, sometimes I do see the resemblance too."

Jeff's eyes widened and he looked over towards Shirley. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just sometimes you can remind us of Pierce, the stubbornness and solitary attitude. We just don't want to see you end up alone too."

"Pierce's problem was that he kept dating!" He cried, feeling hysterical, but doing his best to only sound argumentative.

"No, he kept trying." Annie refuted. "He may have been alone, but that's because of how difficult he could be, but I bet if you could talk to him he would say that he didn't have any regrets."

"Sometimes it's not that simple." Jeff sighed. "Can we please not talk about this anymore?"

Annie held up her hands in mock surrender. "Excuse us for caring. Only want to see you happy." She put her damp hair back into a clip.

"You know what makes me happy? Not being interrogated about my love life by my nosy friends."

"Ugh, baby." Annie accused and walked away. She slipped back into the deep end of the pool, sitting on a step.

"Nice job, Winger." Britta scorned.

"What?" He gestured to Annie. "How is that my fault?"

"Because she just wants to be a good friend to you and you can't help but get all snarky and defensive." Britta spewed.

"Well, it's not her business."

"That never stopped you before, Jeffrey." Shirley added. "Except her intentions were good. Plus, you should be nice to her; we never get to see her as is."

"No, I never get to see her." He confirmed, knowing that they all had noticed it.

"And you think your current attitude is going to change that?" Britta sipped on her beer.

"Plus, you probably hurt her feelings." Abed finally contributed.

"How?"

"By bringing up her love life. She had her second date with Timothy and she thinks he isn't interested in another. She's kind of bummed out about it."

Jeff felt bad because of how good he felt hearing that, so he argued. "I doubt that. You saw how he kissed her." Shirley and Britta groaned. "What? That's not the type of kiss that says, 'we should just be friends.'"

"Well, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Abed said nonchalantly, taking a sip from his Mountain Dew, ignoring the scowl he earned from Jeff. "Just apologize to Annie." Jeff sighed and kicked off his shoes. "Also, don't tell her I told you about Timothy."

He walked over to her. He sat on the edge of the pool beside her and stuck his feet in. "Hey." He nudged her shoulder with his knee.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry; I wasn't trying to be a snarky, defensive jerk." Annie nodded. "I hate my love life being the subject on display, especially when it's non-existent." She smiled and he continued. "I'm going through some things right now and it's weird for me, so I don't want to involve some random chick in it." She looked up at him. "I'll be fine, I think. Everything just feels a little messy and I don't know how to move on from it yet."

"I get that."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wish I was strong like that."

Jeff was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes it's just easier to allow another person in, even if it's not what you want; as long as it makes you forget you're lonely, if only for a second."

He knew what she meant. "Is that what Timothy is for you?" He couldn't help himself.

She shrugged. "I guess I'm still looking for something more. That's why I can't give up."

He looked down at his feet. "What if you think you found it, but it's too late?"

He could feel Annie's eyes on him. "Hey," she nudged. "It's never too late for you to be happy. You deserve it. Just know that that's what I want, what we all want for you."

Jeff didn't want to look away; he didn't want to move. Sitting here and just sensing Annie by his side made him more sure than ever that he really had found it, for her. "Hey, are you guys friends again?" Britta shouted from the table, trashing the moment.

Annie laughed. "Yep!" She called back. "Although, I feel like you still owe me."

He groaned. "Okay, what do you want?"

"A hug." She smiled coyly.

"Why?" He felt hopeful and suspicious simultaneously.

"Well, that way we can put the argument behind us and I can get your outfit damp. Win/win."

He laughed. "Okay. I surrender."

They both stood and Annie leaned into the hug. He inhaled chlorine and the faint lingering smell of strawberries as her head rested just beneath his chin. She pulled away and grinned devilishly. Jeff immediately knew he had made a fatal mistake.

Before he could move away, she used all her strength to push his towering body into the deep end. He took solace in his arm gripped around hers, determined to take her down with him. They both crashed into the water.

He opened his eyes in the chlorinated liquid and looked at her illuminated by the waning sunlight skewering into the water. With the moisture plugging his ears and nothing in his sight but her, he felt a profound contentedness that he knew he would never be able to articulate. Everything else was clouded, blurred and silent but it was fine as long as she was there within his eyesight.

They both re-emerged at the same time gasping for air. The first sounds they heard re-entering the atmosphere was the varied laughter amongst their friends. The boys looked over from their table, envying the fun and quickly abandoned their food to leap into the pool. Shirley jumped from her chair scolding the boys about getting in the pool during dinner. Luckily, Ben still had his water wings on so he floated amongst his brothers.

The warm touch of the soft hand still grasping his bicep was not lost on Jeff as Annie tried to re-stabilize herself. Under the water his hands ghosted over her waist; it would be so easy to touch her and he wanted to so badly, but she blinked and released him, quickly swimming to the shallow end. Jeff dived down and grabbed the clip that had come undone from her hair in the fall. He got out from the deep end, pulling himself up and over the side with ease. He could see Annie up ahead at the table receiving high-fives and congrats over her valiant defeat the group's snob.

"Thanks for that, Jeff. Now I have to dry my hair all over again." She playfully sneered.

"Yeah, I can't imagine what a bummer that must be." He offered his sarcastic sympathy as he pointedly took both his shirts off and wrung them out staring at her deadpanned.

There was laughter all around the table. Britta groaned. "Oh, no. It backfired; you gave him an excuse to show off."

Everyone looked back to his sculpted torso. "You caught me. That was my plan all along." He said sarcastically.

Annie smiled. "I feel like somewhere, somehow the Dean is getting a nosebleed from this." Now it was Jeff's turn to look disgusted.

It was the last few minutes of sunset and Shirley clapped her hands. "Who's ready to start fireworks?" She cooed and then quickly changed her tone and shouted at her boys. "Out of the pool, we're getting ready to do fireworks!"

Annie dried off as much as she could and started putting her clothes back on. She offered Jeff her towel and he patted off. "You should've brought a towel, Jeff."

He replied humoredly. "Yeah, well I never planned to get in the pool."

"My bad."

"And yet you don't sound the least bit sorry."

She shrugged. "It was funny."

They grabbed their stuff and joined the others on the trek to the front yard. Annie grabbed a quilt from the coffee table and placed it evenly on the grass. Shirley offered sparklers once they got outside and began taking pictures of everyone. Annie paraded her sparklers around with an infectious enthusiasm. She laughed and danced about, unaware of how beautiful she looked lit up by the glow of her firework. Jeff felt his heart squeeze; he couldn't believe it took him this long to realize just how special she was and what he felt for her. He sat on her quilt and Abed sat in the middle, on Jeff's right.

After Annie finished playing, she joined Abed and Jeff. Shirley started handing out poppers. Abed quickly abandoned his damp friends in favor of the poppers. Annie leaned back on her forearms while Jeff lay on his back. They both sighed contentedly.

Jeff had just closed his eyes when a loud bang sounded. Annie shook him and pointed to the sky when he looked at her. There was awe in her eyes watching the sky light up and Jeff couldn't help but wonder if he had ever looked at anything the way she looked at those fireworks; he didn't know that he was looking at her exactly like that in that same moment.

After an hour and a half of fireworks, Annie quietly fell asleep on the quilt. At that point, Jeff was sitting upwards watching Britta and Abed pick up the stems of any poppers on the ground that hadn't went off. They tossed them back and forth at each other and the boys. He noticed Andre and Shirley sitting in camping chairs side-by-side. Her head leaned on his shoulder as they watched their sons running around. Briefly, before he could shake the thought away, he envied them.

At 9 o'clock everybody started to get ready to leave. Abed was about to wake up Annie when Jeff stopped him. "Let her sleep."

"But she drove us here."

He shrugged. "I'll take you guys home. I'll help her get her car tomorrow." Abed looked at him inquisitively. "Even if you woke her up right now, she'd still be too out of it to drive, not to mention that cops are just waiting to pull people over tonight. It's safer this way."

Abed didn't argue and just began collecting all of the things they brought. He packed up Jeff's car. Everyone hugged goodnight. Jeff lifted Annie with both arms and she cuddled into his chest. Shirley made a muted 'aww' sound. Abed grabbed the quilt beneath her.

When Jeff placed her in the front seat she began to stir. He whispered, buckling her seatbelt. "It's fine, go back to sleep." She didn't fight off the suggestion. Jeff took the quilt from Abed's hands and placed the folded blanket over her.

The drive home was silent. Abed grabbed the empty ice chest and their towels while Jeff grabbed Annie again and carried her up the steps with little effort. It was sentimental and cheesy, but he loved the way she clung to his chest, curled up against him, cradled in his arms. He placed her on her bed and covered her with a blanket, setting the quilt on the floor.

It never ceased to amaze him how much he felt for her, not just the volume with which he felt it, but how he could feel protective, amorous, angry and wrecked over her, all at the same time. The sweet angel sleeping peacefully was the same vixen he had been drooling over in a bikini and it was the same woman he longed for standing in a kitchen wearing her pajamas, and the same partner in crime he had conspired with and against, and the same inexperienced young lady he had passionately kissed one night outside a dance, shrouded in strings of lights, and they were all the same wholly-consuming presence interrupting his thoughts. No one could ever be all that for him, only her.


	8. Good Friends

**A/N - I've only just now started to notice that at this point in the story there are significantly fewer POV switches. Anyway, we are officially halfway through... YAY! For anyone who is still reading, thank you so much. The highlight of my day is getting to post a new chapter and reading reviews.**

 **Again please R &R, it means a lot to me, even if its just letting me know that you are still reading! **

* * *

Annie remembered the sensation of floating in air. Her mind told her to tense and brace for the fall, but her body knew better. The vague feeling of warmth cradling her and familiar cologne with a hint of pine, relaxed her frame without her head's permission. Her body recognized the touch from earlier that day when she crashed into the pool. She was safe.

It was only when Jeff placed her in the car that she realized the floating sensation was him carrying her. He leaned close and buckled her seatbelt as her eyes fluttered. The comforting pressure of his body ghosting over hers, the scent and his strong soothing voice hypnotized her and she succumbed to its instructions.

The next morning she knew there had been a moment, regardless of how small, in the pool or just before that made her think that these feelings – whatever they might be – that she had for Jeff, were not so unrequited after all. She immediately thought to dispel the foolish notion and banish it from her mind. She wasn't about to do this again. Jeff was simply a pro at making a woman feel special and wanted, but that wasn't her fault; and it definitely didn't mean she would let herself fall for it again. She was finally making some progress and no matter how miniscule it was, progress was still progress.

Annie quickly hurried into the bathroom where she turned on the shower and peeled off her bikini. She couldn't imagine the damage she'd done, letting the chlorine dry her hair and the suit cling to her all night. The moment the warm water cascaded down her back, she realized it had burned at some point the day before. She showered swiftly and wrapped her hair and body in her matching towels. Wiping the mirror clean, she couldn't help but smile at her reflection. The heat and sun from yesterday had tucked itself into her now pink cheeks. She was about to sprint through the living room back into her room when she noticed how silent and empty the apartment was. Abed must've been meeting with his film club. The clock in the hallway told her it was nearly 9:30.

There was a brief knock at the door. "Did you forget your key again?" She sighed and opened the door a crack. A surprised T-shirt cladded Jeff stared back at her. "Oh, I thought you were Abed," was all she could manage.

"No." He said, equally awkward.

"I'm sorry. One second." She gestured with her index finger as she hurried away, leaving the door open a crack. Once she entered her own room, she called out. "You can come in." Annie dressed as fast as was humanly possible and settled on a loose pale purple tank top that didn't irritate her back and some yoga pants. "What are you doing here?" She asked, putting her hair up into a ponytail, while walking into the living room.

Jeff sat on the couch, so Annie took possession of a recliner to the side. She curled up her feet beneath her. "I'm here to drive you to your car. We left it at Shirley's last night."

"I guess I vaguely remember that." She nodded, feeling herself being carried in his arms all over again. Shaking the sensation off, she noticed Jeff watching her with an amused expression.

"So, I guess you weren't expecting me? I thought Abed would've told you. I texted you a few minutes ago, to let you know I was on my way."

"No; I actually just woke up and immediately hopped in the shower; I haven't even checked my phone yet. Abed is probably at his film club." She couldn't help but stare at him in his charcoal gray T-shirt. There was something so approachable and alluring about him dressing so casual and comfortable. It made her sick; now she even found practicality sexy on him. God forbid, she ever see him in sweatpants, she scolded herself, unconsciously sighing.

He patted his hands onto his pants in one quick and loud motion. "So should we go?"

She jumped out of her reverie. "Yeah, just let me grab my bag." She hopped up and hastened into her room where she grabbed her shades and her purse.

* * *

Jeff almost applauded himself for his stoicism at seeing the wet towel-clad Annie. Even though he had always considered his willpower – where Annie was concerned – to be in a league of its own, he felt it waning. Even her burnt cheeks that should have flawed her perfect complexion were endearing to him. He had noticed the matching slight burn on her back and his first thought was if she needed his help to apply aloe to the sensitive skin.

They had been in the car for about a block when he realized that it might be a long time until he saw her again. They were only about 15 minutes away from Shirley's and that wasn't enough to last on. He didn't realize he was stalling until he pulled into a parking lot and asked if she would mind him going into the 7/11 to get something to drink. She unbuckled her seatbelt and said she wanted to get something too.

He took his time perusing as if he had no idea what kind of products they carried. He looked at unsweetened and diet drinks. After a minute, Annie started laughing at him. "I've heard of commitment issues, but this is ridiculous." Jeff noticed her looking at the bland beverages with a dissatisfied expression.

She promptly turned from him and headed towards the Slurpee's. He picked a drink without looking and followed her. "Seriously, are you 10?" He smirked.

"Not all of us can be so disciplined." She mocked. "It's hot, it's summer and a Slurpee sounds amazing. Don't worry; I don't expect you to get one, Mr. Boring. You aren't cool enough to appreciate a Slurpee anyways." She mixed and created a colorful abomination of ice and sucrose in front of him. She put on a lid and finished it off with a red dollop. Taking a sip, she let out a contented sigh.

"Ugh." He grimaced.

They walked towards the counter and she stood in front of him, waiting behind two other people. "It's good; have a sip." She pushed the drink in his face.

"I don't want to."

"Come on, don't be such a baby." She pushed the drink even further in his face.

"Fine." He pouted, grabbing it from her. He took a sip and immediately shook. "No." He breathed.

"You are such a prima donna." She sneered as her ponytail swished, exposing her burn. Jeff couldn't help himself; he touched the icy beverage to her back and let the misty condensation wipe away. She yipped and pulled back.

He grinned cheekily. "So sorry about that."

She scowled. "You don't really sound it."

"It was funny." He copied her sentiments from the day before.

He paid for both their drinks before she could pull out her wallet. "Oh, thanks." She said genuinely when he purchased their drinks.

He shrugged and pulled the door open for them, letting her pass through first. As they walked to the car, she hesitantly touched her back. "Thanks for that." She wiped her hand on her pants.

"Oh, yeah. I noticed you got a little burn going on there." He patronized. "Seems you weren't as thorough as you thought."

She looked at him as they both got in the car. "It seems so. I guess I'll have to do lotion next time." He tried not to seem interested by the tidbit. "I should get some aloe on my way home." He attempted to not re-imagine his thought from earlier.

"Why wait? Wal-Mart is right there and I needed to grab a couple things anyway."

Annie thought for a second. "Are you sure? It's not putting you out? Shirley's house is 5 minutes away; I could always just take myself."

He could sense her hesitance, but pushed on, unable to let her go yet. "It was my suggestion. Besides, I'd be happy of the company." Jeff smiled at her and looked away. "I mean, shopping is so boring, it'd be nice to share the misery with someone else."

A bustling fan welcomed them with its mechanical breeze at the entrance. Jeff noticed the way it lifted and flipped the ends of Annie's damp hair. She quickly grabbed a cart which was met with an inquisitive glance from Jeff. "What? You said you had to do some shopping too." They both placed their drinks in the cup holders.

Jeff had lied. He had gone shopping two days prior and couldn't think of a single thing he actually needed, but she had agreed and he missed her. He could fib his way through an hour if it meant being with her. Who had he become?

He nodded. "Why don't we head in the toiletries section? We can get your lotion first."

Annie stepped away, gesturing for him to push the cart. "Hey, if we are going shopping for you and I'm only getting some Aloe Vera I think it is only fair if you push."

He shrugged and bent his large frame over the handle, pushing behind her. Once they reached their intended destination, Annie grabbed both Aloe Vera and sunblock lotion. Jeff looked around and decided it might be safe to get some razors and shaving cream; he dropped them in the cart.

Annie made a face and quickly looked away. "What was that?"

"Nothing." She said, not meeting his gaze.

"No, not nothing. You made a face."

She sighed lightly. "I just think you look nice with scruff, that's all."

He mulled that over in satisfaction. "People tell me it makes me look older."

She shook her head. "Not older…" She had a pensive expression. "More distinguished. It gives you an authority." She shrugged.

"I'll keep that in mind." He smiled; he definitely would.

"Okay, where to next?" She turned with a perkiness in her step that Jeff guessed came from focusing on the task at hand. There was something so adorable about somebody who effortlessly found joy in what others saw as monotonous chores.

He grabbed some shower gel and thought for a second. It would be safe to stick with mostly non-perishables. "School supplies?"

That earned one of the most genuine smiles he had ever seen her produce. "Really?"

"Yeah, I am a teacher now."

"I'm so proud of you for taking it seriously, Jeff."

He grinned cheekily. "Oh, yeah I even own a red pen for grading assignments."

Annie smiled. "I love it when you talk dirty."

They both laughed, Jeff even more so, because a small part of him believed that that was probably the most effective way to talk dirty to the organized and task-oriented Annie. "Just wait…" He said slyly. "I'm thinking about buying some whiteout and a binder with organizing tabs."

She mock fanned herself. "Please, we're in public." The flirtatious banter caused him to smile.

They headed towards the aisle, with Annie almost leading him to her home away from home. She quickly created her own little pile in the cart. She walked towards him and snagged her Slurpee taking a big gulp.

"Ooh, brain freeze." She touched her forehead.

"Here." He grabbed her free hand and uncurled her thumb. "Place your thumb on the roof of your mouth and press it upward." Annie looked at his hand in hers and seemed to be listening carefully. She did as told and Jeff could not only see her looking at him, but could feel the weight of her gaze as she pressed her thumb in her mouth.

After a second she blinked, looked away and removed her thumb. "Thank you." For a second, he dared to think he saw a blush.

"No problem."

She grabbed a set of purple pens with her back facing him as he quickly examined a binder. "So do they let you use a purple pen at CBI?"

She smiled. "Much to my despair, no." He laughed lightly. "But I still like to use them for any journaling; mainly they are for my day planner."

"I'm sorry you have to put up with such purple prejudice." He offered playfully.

"Well, the pros outweigh the cons at the moment." She grinned.

"You know what; I actually need to get some detergent if you don't mind?" She suggested.

"Perfect. Lead the way." He was thankful to be free of navigating, if only momentarily.

"So how is Greendale?" Annie asked taking a slow and small sip from her Slurpee before placing it back in its cup holder.

Jeff took a sip of his drink, which was apparently an unsweetened tea. He couldn't help, but grimace a little at the taste. "Oh, you know. It's Greendale."

She nodded. "So what crazy shenanigans are currently taking place?"

"Besides the weekend games of freeze tag and the school's anus insignia being plastered all over water fountains? Not much. Although I got to say, I think the Save Greendale Committee has lost all motivation along with your absence."

Annie shrugged and ignored the second part. "Freeze tag?" She thought for a second. "That seems kind of like something Garrett might be messing around with. He is definitely the type to choose an activity that requires a certain amount of resting."

"Generalization, much?"

"Not really; look at the evidence." She offered and Jeff smiled, hearing that familiar tone in her voice. "He has brutal asthma and bad knees; he always wants to join in on the activities, but never lasts very long." Jeff thought for a second. It actually did make some sense. "Just interrogate him a little and he'll fold. If he didn't start it, he knows who did."

"Okay, genius Officer Edison, what about the anuses?"

Annie looked around, bothered by the volume of his voice with that sentence. She laughed when she realized they were alone. "The graffiti?" She said pointedly, emphasizing the last word. "That one's easy. Koogler."

"What? You can't know that immediately. Where is your evidence?" He had to argue with her instant assumption.

"Last semester I sat next to Koogler. He had heard about how you guys designed the school flag. He told me he thought it was hilarious. I noticed him draw it a couple of times. Don't tell me you think he's above these kinds of hijinks?"

"Actually, no. I can't believe we didn't suspect him sooner." He was bothered by how quickly she solved both cases.

"Well, there you have it. Officer Edison, glad to be of service." She said smugly and continued on.

"Wow, so I guess you were the brains of our dynamic duo all along?"

She smirked. "You just realized that?"

"Even more proof that it's true." He offered, not feeling offended, but forlorn with the past tense of the statement.

They reached the aisle and Jeff stood back watching Annie scan through all the detergents. She landed on the top shelf and quickly sized up the height difference. Before she could get on her tiptoes, Jeff came up behind her and easily grabbed the detergent that was nearly level with him. For a miniscule moment in time, he marveled at how petite her body looked and felt next to his, it made him want to cover and protect her. The momentary notion was truly ridiculous; if there was one person that he knew could take care of themselves, it was Annie. She had been through the most and she also happened to be the youngest; sometimes it made him think that she needed to be protected even more so, if only to let her rest.

Before a full 2 seconds passed, he backed up and set the detergent in the cart. He wondered if the charge he always felt around her was unrequited or not. "Why so picky about the detergent?"

She slowly turned around and met his eyes. "If you must know, I have really sensitive skin." He lifted his brow and looked from her to the Aloe Vera in the cart. "Well, obviously. Anyway, this detergent doesn't have as many chemicals."

"Okay, so we are settled on detergent. What next?"

Annie looked back at him. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

He immediately scolded himself for asking the question, when he didn't have an answer. She smirked a little. "Do you need some rice for your phone?"

"Why would I need rice for my p-" He cut himself off with a laugh. "Nice. I'm sorry to disappoint, but your evil plan fell short in that regard."

She shrugged seemingly dissatisfied. "What a shame! I'm sure everyone would have loved to try and picture what Jeff Winger would be like without his phone."

"Luckily, they'll never have to know."

"I'm sure it is a fearsome sight."

"You have no idea." He grinned friskily, showing full teeth. He began pushing the cart towards the front of the store. "I was thinking about maybe grabbing some scotch."

She caught up with him and they walked side-by-side as she sipped at her almost empty Slurpee. "Yeah?" He could sense the undertone of judgment.

"Hey, don't worry. This isn't desk drawer scotch, it's home scotch."

"To lull oneself into an apathetic coma?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged, not interested in arguing with what happened to be true more and more as of late. Being crazy about somebody he screwed up with several times, definitely made him crave apathy. "Sometimes, special occasion."

"Lady friend, special occasion?" She pushed and prodded.

"Annie." He breathed slowly. "I thought we talked about this."

"I know, I just want to make sure you're not avoiding it."

"If I am, that's a personal choice that suits me. It's really not your business."

She pouted. "You're right. It's just important to me that you find someone."

"Well, that's not your problem." He tried to keep calm, even though the woman he wanted more than anything was trying to coerce him to be with any other woman. "I don't need you vocally worrying about me."

"I know. It wasn't fair of me to put you on the spot like that yesterday." He froze, amazed that she was apologizing, unprompted. "I mean, I complained and practically threw a fit when you did it to me last week, and then I immediately do it to you."

Even though it was built up like an apology, he couldn't help but feel like she was doing her part to both blame him a little and to point out his own hypocrisy. "I can't help but worry, it's the only way I know how to be a friend."

He nodded. "I get that, but do I seem fine to you?" She looked at him, puzzled. "Do I look like I'm on the brink of a psychotic break or like I'm suffering through heartache?" She shook her head. "Okay, then whatever I am dealing with is not worth you worrying."

"Isn't it? I mean we are supposed to be good friends to one another, right?" Jeff refused to acknowledge the sting. "I just don't get to be there every day and all of a sudden, it's like you're closed off. I feel like I can't relax, if you're not okay. I want you to be happy."

"I am, or at least I'm trying to be. I'll figure something out. I've been so back and forth, these past few years, maybe I need to be single for a while. As for you being around, we would even settle for less than every day." He grabbed his scotch and they began to ring up. She sighed, refusing to comment on the last sentence.

Annie went first; as she placed her last item on the counter, Jeff couldn't help the almost triumphant sound that came from him. "What?" She asked.

"13 items for you, to my 8. You went shopping, I tagged along." He grinned. "And to think you made me lug around this heavy cart filled to the brim with all of your stuff." He said with theatrical self-pity.

She held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, Tina Fey." She re-counted their items. "You know what, this isn't fair. You took me to school supplies. I demand a mistrial."

He shook his head teasingly. "No, I can't be blamed if you have no self-control." She let out her signature gasp. "I can forgive this slave labor, but not someone who can't take accountability."

"I can think of at least 4 people who would beat you senseless for comparing this to slave labor."

"Well, good thing you're not one of them."

"I don't know," She commented. "I'm pretty scandalized."

He laughed. They finished and paid for their items, heading back to the car. Even driving slightly under the speed limit, they reached Shirley's home in less than 7 minutes. At this point, he knew there was no other way to stall. As they rounded the corner, to their friend's street, he took a breath. "Look, I think I should probably apologize about yesterday too, again." He pulled over, behind Annie's car. "I had no right to get so indignant with you. I think I was just looking for an excuse to lash out at you. I guess I'm still not over this whole disappearing act of yours."

Annie sighed. "We did this whole talk. I even checked with you yesterday to make sure we were okay. You said, 'resolved'."

He nearly cut her off. "I know; I lied." He looked directly into her eyes without breaking contact. "I can't pretend to be unbothered with your absence. It matters, Annie, you're important to me." He sighed and looked away; trying to reign in everything else he was feeling. "We're good friends, right? Good friends don't just vanish when their friends need them."

"You said you were fine."

"But that holds no weight on the argument of whether or not we miss you. I can be fine and still miss my friend." Acknowledging his feelings for her had been hard enough, but just his luck, it had to come at a time when she seemed hell bent to cut him out of her life. How was he supposed to figure any of this out without her?

"Jeff, I need time too, just like you do. When I have found a way to balance-" She breathed out through her nose, "everything without feeling overwhelmed, I'll be back. But I don't know how to do that yet. And I can't keep spreading myself so thin. It's like compromising my own sanity and it's exhausting." She took another deep breath. "You know, you're not the only one going through some things right now; maybe your solution is keeping your friends close, but mine is creating some distance. We can both do what it takes for us to handle our own situations. You have Greendale and Britta, Shirley and Abed. Take solace in that." He doubted that they could be going through the same thing.

"You have all that too, Annie."

"I know, but that's not what I need. I just need time." She looked away. "It's hard, but I'm going to figure it out. I've got to." For a split second, something in Annie's eyes made him think she might start crying. He had felt sympathy before, but it couldn't prepare him for the way his chest ached and his breath caught at her hurt expression. Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and hugged her, needing to comfort her and in doing so, comfort himself. She quickly pulled away. "It's fine; I'll be fine." Her voice broke and he knew he couldn't trust the words behind the sound. She hurried out of the car without another word.


	9. The Greendale Four

Annie wanted to let herself feel strong, so she pretended not to notice the few tears that found freedom on her drive home. It had been a long time since she had felt this kind of agony from being around Jeff; the closest she had got to it was that day in the bunker, which is why she had put a lid on everything. She had familiarized herself with the feeling of wanting Jeff and desiring him, but now it hit her with a potency that socked her in the gut and threatened to drop her to her knees. It wasn't just wanting him anymore, it was something stronger and scarier, and she couldn't believe it had taken her this long to notice the change.

His arms around her were the exact comfort she yearned for and needed, but were the only kind that she had to reject. The day had been effortless and fun; in a sick way it had almost tricked her into thinking, that for the moment they belonged to each other, in a mutual, comforting, non-possessive kind of way. What terrified her most was how natural it felt to be like that with him and to feel like that is what they were for one another. It made her angry and miserable to know that it was becoming impossible to just be his friend. Would her heart break every time she got close to him or would she develop thick skin for it eventually? This would take a lot more effort than she had originally believed; Jeff Winger was a force to be reckoned with.

Once back at her apartment, Annie hurried for her room, but was intercepted by Abed returning to the couch from the kitchen with a soda and buttered noodles in hand. "Got your car?"

She stopped. "Yes, and I would've been glad for the warning, Abed."

"What do you mean?" His eyes glanced back emotionless.

"You didn't tell me that Jeff was going to pick me up. I would've liked a heads up."

"I don't see why it matters."

"Why don't I believe that for a second?" She breathed shallowly, trying to reign in her frustration with him. "You say you're the watcher of the group right, then I don't need to put it all into bullet points for you, okay?" She stormed towards her room. "You claim to see through my pretenses, then I'm sure you can figure it out." She slammed her door.

She sat on her bed and tried to calm herself down. It was embarrassing enough for her to deal with all of this, but for Abed to understand it all, only to force her into unhelpful situations and try to push her to say what was really happening, what she was really feeling, that was just too much. There was a timid knock at her door. She groaned. "What?"

He opened the door and pushed his head through the crack, careful to keep his body in the neutral zone of the hallway (a tactic Annie had come to recognize over the past 2 years). "I'm sorry, Annie."

Annie couldn't help but talk down to him in any emotional situation. "Do you even know what you are sorry for?"

"I made you angry."

Another groan. "Yes, you did, but that's not what I need you to be sorry for."

"You want me to be sorry because I've been insensitive with how you're handling this whole 'distance' thing?" She smiled. He was showing some sensitivity by not directly addressing the issue.

"Something like that. You knew I wouldn't handle it well if I knew Jeff was coming; which is why you didn't tell me, right?"

"He misses you, Annie." The thought made her heart beat a little harder.

"That may be true, but right now I have to focus on what is best for me. You and I both know that it isn't Jeff."

Abed walked into her room and sat at the edge of the bed, still not making full eye contact. "It's not just a crush, is it?"

He looked up at her and she smiled solemnly. "I don't think it ever was." She sighed and stuffed a pillow into her face. "That's neither here nor there; I can't be just one of the Study Group or the Save Greendale Committee when I'm tormented like this." She took the pillow away from her face and hugged it to her chest. "I just need you, as my closest friend, to trust that I know what is best for me right now. And of course, your silence on the matter."

"Of course." He nodded. "Do you really think that avoiding him is going to make this easier, though?"

"Abed." She warned.

He held up a hand. "No, really, I'm serious. In case you haven't noticed, it's only made him more determined."

"Well, that's just going to have to be his problem. This isn't about me avoiding him; this is about me choosing to actually start living my life. I've been so content to just stay at Greendale and not actually try to create my own future. Complacency has never been my thing, but it was easy to fall into at Greendale and with you guys. I finally felt like part of a family and I didn't want anything to change, but that just meant that nothing moved forward. I can't do it anymore."

"So you really plan on seeing all this through?" His voice was somber.

"I think I kind of have to."

Abed let a breath out through his nose. "I'm sorry if I've been making this harder for you. I just wanted to think there was another option."

"Me too, but it's time." She looked down mournfully.

"Are you going to talk to the Dean?"

"I was thinking about maybe stopping by this week during my lunch hour."

Abed nodded. "Do you think he'll try to stop you?"

"More than likely, but it's not like he can. I'll talk to the rest of the group later, so again, your silence, it's imperative."

He made a gesture of locking his lips and patted her knee. "It'll all work out somehow."

"Easy there, Abed. That sounds suspiciously like faith. Isn't that Shirley's domain?" She teased.

"Yes, and it is one I would never dream to trespass on." He said, severe. "I don't have the demeanor for it."

"You don't say?" She smiled sarcastically and nudged him with her foot. "I always thought of you as the one with preachy disposition, what with all that talk of Jesus and fire and brimstone."

He grinned. "I know; I'll try to cut back." They both laughed lightly.

Before he could move away, Annie leaned over and hugged him. After a second of rigidity, he hugged her back. "Thank you for being so easy to confide in."

"You're welcome." He pulled back and left her alone in her room.

* * *

Jeff sat in the Study Room on Tuesday, looking at the committee, noticing a missing member. "Where's the Dean?"

An apathetic voice answered. "He's in a meeting right now."

Jeff looked at Abed closely. "I guess it doesn't really matter, since nothing gets done and its hardly an official meeting, but couldn't he have just rescheduled?"

"No." The stoic man offered nothing else.

"Okay." Jeff tried to not be put off by how extra disconcerting Abed's behavior seemed. He couldn't let it bother him after his weekend. Even if it had ended less than triumphantly, there had been some kind of intimacy in the time that he had shared with Annie, it felt important. "Then I guess, let's get to 'business'."

The air quotes weren't lost on any of the members. "I talked to Koogler and he admitted to the graffiti." There was a small sound that resembled applause. "I offered him a way out of expulsion and he took it. He will pay for the damages and will be the first listed on voluntary work deemed necessary by the Save Greendale Committee. That seems a fair compromise to me." There were nods all around. "Also, Garrett said that the game of freeze tag was started by a group of individuals; he only named Neil. My guess is that we can also place Vicki and Garrett himself down as suspects. I'm guessing Neil made a copy of the keys before he was suspended from office work after the yam incident."

Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement, except for Jenny who looked back and forth gauging reactions. Britta looked at him suspiciously. "Okay, you haven't been interested in either of these issues all month. Why the sudden change? And how did you solve both cases?"

"I had some outside help."

"Ah, the dynamic duo reunited?" Britta inquired, almost teasingly.

Jeff tried to not smile. "I received counsel from a knowledgeable third party. It turned out to be on the nose. You're welcome."

The blonde scoffed. "I'll thank Annie when I see her next."

Jeff nearly glared. "I'm lost." Jenny finally added.

Britta shrugged. "Jeff and Annie are the best team of detectives we've ever had."

"We never solved the Ass Crack Bandit." He claimed their one loss proudly and then felt stupid for it.

"Because we all had just found out that Pierce died." Shirley said sadly and there was a second of silence. "And my money is on it being an inside job."

"What are you insinuating, Shirley?"

"Oh, nothing, Jef-frey." She split up the syllables sweetly.

"Anyway," Britta continued. "Annie is the brains behind their operation. I'm guessing she gave him some help over the holiday."

Jeff shrugged. It was mostly true after all. "Okay, so what was the yam incident?" Jenny spoke, still at square one.

Britta sighed and explained Neil's treachery to insure the success of his paramour during their third year biology class and how such sedition led to revoking of certain office personnel privileges. Jenny shook her head. "I'm starting to think less is more with you people."

Abed nodded. "That would be an accurate presumption."

"So are we done or what?" Chang asked impatiently.

Buzz Hickey adopted the math teacher's attitude. "Yeah, I've got some other work to do."

"Publisher's still interested?" Abed asked without malice.

Hickey misread the tone. "Shut up."

Jeff looked around at the restless faces. "I guess we can adjourn early since we accomplished more in the past five minutes than we have all semester. All those in favor of early dismissal by a show of hands."

Every hand went up quickly. "Okay, dismissed then. See you all on Thursday." Jeff stood quickly and watched the group disperse.

Jenny stood beside him. "Lunch?"

He thought quickly. "Well, we did finish pretty quick. I might actually have time for Senor Kevin's, which would be a welcome treat to the cafeteria."

"Mind if I join?" Jenny asked casually.

He looked at her for a split second and noticed that he no longer read predator in her expression. She almost seemed uninterested in the answer. "Sure."

They walked out into the hallway and bumped into the Dean. He looked bothered, almost deflated compared to his usual perky self. "Dean." Jeff called the small man out of his trance. "We finished early. Everyone left."

"Oh." Craig said softly. "Well, I guess that's nice." He trudged away.

"What was that about?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him so depressed since he received a 'notice of cease and desist' from Michael Fassbender's publicist regarding his 'intrusive and alarming' fanmail." Jenny looked back concerned and poised to ask a question. "Thankfully, I don't know the details." She nodded as if the answer was sufficient.

Jeff halted when he looked up ahead. Jenny stopped with him and noticed as he shook away his brief stupor. She followed his eyes. Annie stared back at Jeff and the colleague beside him. She looked dazed and slowly approached them. "Annie, what are you doing here?" Jeff could feel the second Jenny looked back at Annie after hearing the name.

"Oh, I had a meeting with the Dean."

"Are you why he's walking around like a dejected and pitiful puppy?"

Annie quickly plastered on an expression of surprise. "No, it must've been after me. I'm actually on my way back to work." There was a second. "Sorry, I'm Annie." She held out her hand.

Jeff felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Annie this is Professor Jenny Stewart. Professor Stewart, this is Annie."

The older woman shook the hand enthusiastically. "It's so good to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you. It's nice to be able to put a face to the legend."

Annie shyly smiled and blushed. "Oh, thank you. Um, same here." She shook away her frazzled bashfulness. "I mean, I've heard a lot about you too. I can't imagine what a change Greendale must be for you."

Jeff didn't bother to look between the two; Annie had his full attention as she warily tucked a mahogany lock behind her ear and looked at her feet briefly.

"Oh, it's definitely a change." Jenny smiled. "Actually, it's more than a change; I would say it's like a whole other world."

Annie grinned, her blush finally fading away. "I remember feeling that way too, once." She laughed. "I can't believe it's almost been six years."

"Wow, six days and I'm overwhelmed."

"Yeah, it has that effect." She laughed softly.

"Well, Jeff and I were going to stop at Senor Kevin's for lunch because the Committee meeting ended early. I would love if you would join us." Jenny said good-naturedly.

Annie looked up and her smile slowly faded as if a thought had just crossed her mind. She looked at her watch. "I wish I could, but I actually have to head back to work. I just made barely enough time for the meeting and my time is almost up." She smiled. "Rain check, though?"

"Of course." Jenny smiled and reached her hand out again. "It was really a pleasure to meet you."

Annie shook the hand. "Oh, the pleasure was all mine." She finally looked back at Jeff and offered him a small smile. "Bye Jeff, Professor Stewart." She waved and hurried out the door.

Jeff tried not to seem disturbed by how quickly that all had passed or how little he was involved, but crossed the line at his own indifference with the offhandedness Annie had treated him, devoid of any of the intimacy he had felt since saying goodbye two days before.

Jenny watched him. "I see what all the adoration was about; she's gorgeous and so sweet." She walked ahead. "Jeff?" He looked up. "Lunch?" He nodded and followed Jenny out of the building.

* * *

If Annie hadn't given up on Jeff long before, she would've felt purely defeated by the beautiful and mature woman who stood beside him in the hallway, equal to him in both allure and life experience. Since that wasn't the case, she shook away the crestfallen feeling in her chest as some sort of fluke.

She had used the meeting with the Dean as a way to avoid seeing Timothy and deal with that awkwardness; their meeting was supposed to take place during the committee meeting, so she figured it was safe. She definitely didn't expect to stumble on an even more awkward situation. Jenny looked perfect standing next to Jeff, they complimented each other well.

A very small part of her wanted to hate the stunning and brainy beauty, but found it impossible with how genuinely welcoming her behavior was. She seemed like the type of woman who anonymously sponsored 5 underprivileged children in war-torn countries, but was also worldly enough to have her own private art collection. Annie tried to breathe slowly. If there was a woman she had to choose for Jeff, Jenny seemed almost too perfect; they both exuded the same kind of hypnotizing charisma.

At least the Dean had seemed to take the news relatively well. A brief sob and small plea to stay was the least she expected, so she took it as a win. She knew he couldn't talk about it with anyone else, which allotted her a small peace of mind.

She drove in silence and made it back to her work with 25 minutes to spare. It was too much time to kill in her car, so she drove around the corner and stopped at a Starbuck's getting herself a chai tea latte and a cinnamon scone. She watched her phone and felt eyes on her. Turning to the side she noticed a man about her age with dark shaggy hair and green eyes looking back at her. She smiled back.

* * *

His lunch with Jenny was pleasant but ultimately bland for Jeff, when all he could think about was the blush on Annie's face or the way she barely met his eyes before leaving with a vague, meaningless little wave. She was definitely aiming to pull away again.

The next couple of days passed in silence and stagnation as Jeff replayed every moment of seeing Annie back at Greendale and wondering if things would ever go back to the way they were before, but even more so, if he wanted them to?

"What do you think, Jeff?" He looked up and noticed Britta, Shirley and Abed staring at him intently.

"What?" He replied, utterly lost as the other members of the Save Greendale Committee had seemed to have vanished in the time that he had spaced out.

Britta huffed and repeated herself. "For dinner? Where do you want to go?"

"What are the choices?" He could hear the apathy in his voice, but didn't care enough to mask it.

"Abed wants Red Robin, Shirley said Olive Garden and I say T.G.I.F., but Abed says it would be 'incongruous' for us to go, whatever the hell that means." She puckered for Olive Garden.

Abed interjected. "I don't like the idea of going to a restaurant with a day in its name on a contrasting day. It feels like we're trying too hard to be contradictory. T.G.I.F.'s is for Fridays. That'd be like going to a Ruby Tuesdays on a Monday. It feels forced and I shouldn't be forced visit their establishment out of pity for their poor branding."

"Is this really an argument?" Jeff asked, lacking any of his usual disgust.

"Well, it won't be if you break the tie." Shirley offered.

"Red Robin, then." He mechanically replied, which was met with two defeated moans.

They decided to carpool in Jeff's car and drove in a near silence. They were seated quickly. As Britta and Abed hurried to their booth, Shirley pulled him to the side. "Okay, Jeffrey. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Hey, don't look away from me. I'm serious. You've been out of it lately, sure, but these past few days I don't even recognize you anymore. You know you can tell me, right?"

That was just the thing. If Jeff could tell anyone, it would probably be Shirley, not that anything he had to say would be free from her judgment, but at least he knew how to be honest with her and even occasionally ask for advice. But he couldn't talk to anyone about what he was feeling, mainly because he didn't understand it himself, but also because he feared that even if he didn't fully understand, the deepest part of him had an idea and he couldn't begin to comprehend letting those words slip from his mouth.

When he watched Annie walk away it almost felt like something important was pulling from his grasp, something he couldn't afford to lose hold of. That day they had went shopping together, she was almost vulnerable in the car, as if she needed to confide something, she pulled away from him and something in her expression faded. Maybe she was in as much pain as he was; obviously, it wasn't the same kind of pain, but he could read the severity in her eyes. He had done nothing to help her and even more so, she didn't want his help. Things seemed to be changing irreversibly and he didn't know how to stop it or even if it could be stopped. "Shirley, I wouldn't know where to start and even if I did there's nothing you could do to help."

She smiled sadly. "At least you're not lying to me."

"I'm not. I'm just angry and frustrated and all mixed up. I can't begin to sort anything out."

She patted his shoulder. "Oh, Jeffrey. You'll figure out how to fix it."

"I'd like to think so, but sometimes I'm not so sure." He said with a sour half-smile.

"None of us are. Not you, me, even Annie gets unsure." She offered; he met her eyes by accident. "We are just stumbling through this world, there's no manual, but sometimes it's nice to know that we aren't stumbling alone. All we can do is be there for each other and hope we someday receive the same courtesy. Just know that I'm listening whenever you find the words." She patted him again and joined their friends.

When Jeff meandered over, he noticed Abed had already taken up with the order machine. As they waited for their waiter, Abed played movie trivia, answering each question as if it were the easiest he had ever encountered. They ordered soon after and Jeff watched the group's dynamic unfold. Britta would say something both radically political and partially inaccurate, Shirley would comment with a reference to the 'good book', and Abed would give an offhanded remark dismissing their argument as some kind writing device to establish the core of their characters. Usually Jeff would be joining, but he found the conversation held little interest for him, with it missing a voice. He couldn't wait for the Summer semester to be over, so things could go back to normal or their version of normal. At least then, Annie would be back.


	10. Trying Again

**A/N - From here on out the chapters become noticeably smaller, word-count wise, but I would say a lot more starts to happen. Sorry about that, its just how they came out.**

 **Again, any reviews would be much appreciated; it always makes my day to see that someone has something/anything to say about this story. Thank you. Enjoy.**

This was so unlike Annie Edison. She had never been the type to act her age, she thought as she pulled a piece of her hair back, looking into the mirror.

For the past several days, she had continued spending all her lunches at the same Starbuck's right around the corner from CBI. The first day she had stopped in on her way back from Greendale, she noticed the man observing her. He didn't speak to her, but gave her another smile as he walked by her table near the door. He slipped out and left. As he continued to his car outside, she noticed him look back through the windows to where she was still sitting. It gave her a confidence boost, but was decidedly nothing significant.

On Wednesday, she decided to return to her same table and sip on the same latte. The dark haired man came in again, ordered and sat at the table beside her. There was something naturally charming about a person her age, reading from a newspaper instead of playing on their phone. Again, he said nothing and exited before her, releasing one last smile.

On Thursday, the man asked if he could join her. She received a text from Abed asking her if she would like to join the group for dinner later that evening, after they had finished their meeting. She sent a quick reply, dismissing herself from the invitation and continued to sip on her latte and chat frivolously with the dark haired man, who had introduced himself as Ethan. He had a soothing air about him, with his wrinkled newspaper, button-up shirt and shy grin. Although the conversation remained trivial, there was an atmosphere that felt comfortable and unforced. He asked if he would see her there again the next day. She smiled and told him that she would be there. He gave her another timid smile as he left.

On Friday, Ethan sat at her table again, a little tense, while wearing an aloof expression. Before he left, she learned the reason of his nervousness as he politely asked her out on a date for that evening. Usually she would have said no, but she was trying to embrace her youth and stop chaining herself to the unattainable; not to mention there was something so appealing to her about the shyness of his character. She gave him her number and told him that she would meet him at the restaurant. This time, he beamed at her as he exited the café.

She looked back at herself in the mirror and couldn't help, but shake her own head. She had never been the one to accept a date with what was relatively a complete stranger. There was also something exciting about being so adult. She didn't have to explain herself; she was trying something new and it almost refreshed her spirits.

She couldn't let herself be beaten by something she could never have. Jeff would eventually give in to Jenny and she was done waiting around for the impossible. Simple as that.

At least, it should've been. Abed had set off for his film club meeting an hour earlier and would be back soon. She suspected that even though they had had their talk about him pushing her into compromising situations, that she still couldn't fully trust him to keep his nose out of it. There was almost a desperation he had adopted ever since they had argued.

The knock at the door caused her unease; she knew her luck and she knew that Abed was beginning to crack under the pressure of being the only one who knew she wouldn't be returning to Greendale in the Fall. She only needed one guess as she opened the door expectantly.

* * *

Jeff really didn't know why he was here. Abed was out at his film club, he knew that, but he felt compelled to fix things with Annie, even if she didn't want things to be fixed. Abed would be back soon and Jeff had just forced plans upon him, in hopes of having a reason to see Annie. It was such a mess.

She opened the door and eyed him with something far from surprise, but tinged with annoyance. "Jeff, what are you doing here?" She left the door open and walked away back in the direction of the bathroom.

Jeff could only watch her strut away in a burgundy wrap around dress that displayed her décolletage intimidatingly. He finally got a hold of himself once she was out of sight. "I made plans to hang out with Abed, is that alright?" He said hesitantly.

Annie called back from the bathroom. "Sure, doesn't bother me. I'm going to be out for a few hours anyway."

He sat down on the couch and tried to reign in the parade of questions stampeding through his mind and threatening to spill out his mouth, when she continued. "You know, Abed is at his film club meeting right now."

"Oh, really?" He faked surprise as she walked back into the living room. He pretended to be looking at his watch. "I guess I showed up a little too early."

"How very un-Winger of you." She put in some dangly earrings. "If you want you can get yourself a beer while you wait."

He moved quickly, feeling anxious from sitting as she swayed through the apartment. He leaned against the kitchen counter and began sipping at his beer, when she placed her foot on one of the cushioned chairs around the table. She did up the complex straps and Jeff tried to convince himself that he wasn't hypnotized by the sight, nor was he drooling from it either. She switched feet and the silence permeated the room. As she finished, Jeff quickly looked away. "You look nice; anything special?" 'Nice' was an understatement. The dress hugged her body in a way that disrupted his thoughts, short-circuiting his brain. The color made her skin look like luxurious ivory. Her hair fell down in soft waves and her eyes shined deeper than he had ever seen. If he wasn't already crazy about her, just seeing her like this would make him lose his mind.

Annie lightly spritzed her pulse points with an enticing, yet flowery perfume. "I have a date."

"Oh, so Tiny Tim finally asked you out again?" He knew instant regret and mentally scolded himself as she awarded him a small, but unmistakable glare.

"No, I don't think Timothy and I are going to go out again." She seemed to be looking for something.

"Oh, really, so some new guy? That seems quick."

Annie shrugged. "Not really, especially if you consider how inactive my love life has been over the past few years. I'm making up for lost time. It's not like anything's waiting for me in the meantime."

Jeff sighed and tried to not feel guilty or offended. She was right. It's not like he was anywhere near getting his shit together. "So, what's he like?"

She shrugged again. "I barely know him, but he seems nice and shy." She smiled softly and Jeff's immediate reaction was to grimace. "Not that I should tell you about him. It'll just give you ammo to find flaws."

He tried to shrug and sound casual. "No one's good enough for you, Annie."

"Can you imagine how lonely that must be for me?" She sighed and a fragile moment held his breath.

She looked away and he swallowed down his jealousy, clearing his throat. "How did you meet?"

"Oh, um, I've kind of bumped into him a few times at the Starbuck's around the corner from work."

"Wait, so you are going out with some guy that you've seen at a coffee shop a couple times? That seems dangerous. Annie he could be like an axe murderer." Annie had the gall to chuckle at what Jeff deemed a very real possibility. "I'm serious."

"Well, thanks for the heads up, Jeff. I will definitely be on the lookout for any axes hidden under our table and I'll do my best not to be alone with him in the populated and busy restaurant." She sneered sourly.

He sighed. "Fine, just be careful."

"Will do." She kept searching.

"What are you looking for?"

"My necklace. It has a long silver chain and an opal stone at the end."

Jeff walked over and began looking with her. She went back into the bathroom to check. He looked on the table and moved her small clutch bag and found the necklace underneath. "I found it."

"Thank you." She hurried out of the bathroom.

As she approached, Jeff gestured for her to turn around so that he could do the clasp for her. She briefly hesitated and then complied. His hands went around her neck and she pulled her hair up and held it at the back of her head. The gesture was quickly backfiring on him as her swaying wavy ends wafted her perfume into his nose. She smelled intoxicating and he breathed shallowly trying to not take in the scent. The clasp was so small and delicate that he quickly began to realize Annie would've been able to get it done much faster than he could. He let out a deep breath and felt Annie wriggle as the air tickled her neck. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Humor filled her voice for the first time since he showed up. "Need any help?"

"No, I got this." He smiled. "So, is everything okay?"

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"No," he sighed. "I mean, are we okay? I feel like you've been angry at me or something since I dropped you off at Shirley's. It's like you're abrupt around me."

"Jeff, I think you're reading into something." The statement weighed on them both for a second. "I'm not angry. Everything's fine. You shouldn't take everything I do so seriously."

He finished the clasp. "I didn't- it's not that. It's just," he breathed. "When you left the car, I thought-"

Annie pulled back and looked at him. "What?"

"You seemed like you were agonizing over something. I'm not trying to pry."

She patted his hand. "Then don't."

"Annie, I-" Luckily, Jeff never got to figure out what his mind was willing and ready to blurt out.

The door was opened and Abed walked in. Annie separated from Jeff at the entrance of their friend. Jeff watched her walk away. She grabbed her clutch and double checked her appearance in the mirror. Jeff watched each motion, drawn in to the pure sight of her; she personified perfection in each movement without effort. "Okay, boys have fun. Don't wait up." She smiled in a foreign way and walked out. Jeff could hear the clicking of her heels until the end of the hallway.

* * *

Annie sat in her car and glanced at her watch again. She had been sitting for what felt was the better part of an hour, looking up at her apartment, waiting for Jeff to leave or for the lights to turn out in the living room. Either would be fine with her. She just didn't want to walk in and immediately deal with the line of questioning.

Her date with Ethan had been nice; he proved to be just as sweet as she had originally thought. He was a shy computer programmer and she did like him enough to go on another date, if he found the courage to ask her out again. They kissed goodnight beside her car. She touched her lips as if the tingle had still remained, it didn't. It wasn't bad, in fact the opposite, it was really nice and to her surprise she actually had felt almost dizzy afterwards. 'Almost dizzy' was the most she had felt in a long time, but she also felt not quite guilty, but more disappointed by how nice it went.

It was almost one in the morning when she decided to just head up. As she walked down the hallway she heard a faint chatter coming from the television with silence surrounding it. She slipped off her shoes and tiptoed to their door, hoping she hadn't misread the silence. She turned the key slowly and quietly. Jeff was sprawled across the couch unconscious, yet again, only this time he cuddled a large half-eaten bowl of popcorn. Some vague DVD menu looped around as she locked both locks and placed her heels in the shoe cubby. She continued her tiptoed pursuit of the living room. She turned the TV off and gently pulled the bowl out of Jeff's arms. She patted his head affectionately once and headed into the bathroom where she got ready for bed.

She had turned out the light, placed her phone on the charger and lay down. Not a minute later she heard the soft click of the door. Curiosity nagged at her and she opened her door only to find the living room was completely empty and only the bottom lock was done at the front door.

* * *

Jeff had no right to be angry at Annie, but when it reached one in the morning and she still hadn't come home, he began to feel sick to his stomach. He hoped nothing bad had happened, but if nothing bad had happened, that only left one other option for why she was out so late, and that thought had him feeling almost as upset. When he heard the door being unlocked and opened, he decided to play dead, or asleep as any functioning person would think to do, but he wasn't functioning, not really. Annie had been out all night and he noticed the absence of clicking from her heels. He wanted to dry heave, but continued to remain motionless.

He heard the whispered movements of her all around him, but all he could think was how he couldn't stand to be there another second. He deserved this sick feeling in his gut, he was a coward and she was so far passed her small, trivial crush on him. He's the one who had to be an idiot that developed real, substantial, rip-out-his-heart, kick-in-the-gut type of feelings for her. In that second his cowardice grew and he wished he had never put on that damn helmet, wished he had never looked her way in that bunker, wished he had never fallen for little Disney doe-eyed Annie, the unattainable and all-consuming piece of home that found her way into his everything.

In truth, he knew these feelings of jealousy had started long before that summer; they had always been around where Annie was concerned. Of course he tried to break up her and Vaughn, he couldn't let him have her, and of course he hated the Black Rider for the brief 12 hours that he was in their lives. He couldn't even begin to describe what he felt when Rich was the object of her affection. It shouldn't have mattered; he was sleeping with Britta at the time, but just watching Annie smile and flirt with him had boiled his gut. He had been lucky to not have to face any of that jealousy in the past 3 years, but it made him cocky; as if he had won the girl he was too afraid to pursue, just because there were no other men in her life.

He wasn't cross with her; he couldn't be. None of this was her fault, it all fell on him. He was the reason that he had spent the past 2 months suffering, the reason he couldn't look at another woman, the reason he was pretending to be asleep on his friend's couch because he couldn't look at her only to see her eyes filled with someone else. This all fell on him and his tendency to wait until it was too late. Just like he always did.


	11. The Calm Before

Annie had wanted to feel adult and if she was being totally honest, it had been too long for her since she had last been intimate with a man and she liked the idea of reinforcing the truth to her friends that she was no longer an oppressed teenager. These were all reasons why she should've felt as far from guilty as humanly possible about being out so late the night before, but she wasn't. She was horrified. She could never sleep with some random guy on the first date; she didn't have it in her to judge women who might, but that wasn't her, she demanded more before she could give it. Jeff had to have known that she came in so late; although she wanted to believe that he had fallen asleep hours before and hadn't heard or seen her come in. It shouldn't matter though; she had to keep reminding herself.

She had already fought with Abed in the morning. She had thought this whole interfering thing was behind them. It was only when he claimed that Jeff had asked to hang out with him that her anger started to waver. She remembered Jeff saying that he was dealing with his own issues and that relying on his friends helped him get through it. Who was she to deprive him of his only outlet and could she call herself his friend if she did? While on the subject of friends and outlets…

Before she really knew what she was doing, she began to call Britta. Britta was a liberated and open-minded female of the 21st century so she would probably be able to convince Annie that she shouldn't feel guilty and if she wanted to, she had every right to sleep with Ethan that night, if she saw fit.

In truth, Annie just needed someone to tell her that she owed no one an explanation. The irony was not lost on her.

* * *

Britta entered Jeff's office and waited for him to look her way. He noticed her and glanced at his watch. He was late for the Committee meeting; he tried to care, but found that he just couldn't. "What the hell is wrong with you lately?"

"Are you that desperate to 'therapize' someone that you would make me a subject?"

Britta grinned teasingly. "Even if I had a PhD, you're baggage would be far beyond my pay grade." She leaned against his desk. "In fact, I don't even think you have baggage, it's more like a storage shed of unresolved issues."

"Seriously, A+ on the pep talk."

"I'd do better if I knew why I'm giving you one in the first place. This self-loathing, depression crap you've got going on is so vague, I can only generalize."

"I'm sorry my suffering isn't more thorough and diagnosable. I'll work on my expression."

"Really, self-pity? My opinion of you is already remarkably low, do I need to drop it a few more pegs?"

He sighed. "You tell me."

"So you were at the apartment during her hot date, huh? Déjà vu. What, did you pick another fight with her?" He looked up, taken aback by his own surprise. "Don't be shocked, Winger. You are getting even easier to read."

"Although, I'm not agreeing that this is the problem, I'll answer to prove you wrong. No, I didn't pick a fight with her."

"God, you're so gross." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "So, she went on a date with some other guy. Big whoop! A girl like Annie should be beating boys back with a stick."

"That's great for her, I guess."

"You know, she had a great time. His name is Ethan and he's really sweet and shy."

"I gather he's not that shy."

"What do you mean-" She heaved. "Oh my God! You're moody because she was out all night." She had the audacity to laugh at him. "Serves you right."

"Thanks for that."

"You're welcome to it; after all you earned it."

"I get it, Britta."

"No, you're the worst."

"Whatever."

"Ugh!" She groaned. "I can't help myself. You really don't deserve to be let off the hook, which is why I can't believe I'm going to tell you this, which is why I won't." She pushed off the desk and moved to walk away.

"What, Britta?"

"Nothing happened!" She forced out and then continued at a slower pace. "He took her on a nice date, they went for a walk, he kissed her goodnight and then she parked outside the apartment and waited for you to leave, until she gave and went up."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because the last time she came home from a date, this nosy asshole interrogated her and sullied what was a perfectly good evening. Shocker that she wouldn't want a repeat of that."

Jeff hated that his spirits were already lifted. "I don't know why this should matter."

"Doesn't it?" She sighed, exasperated. "You're a lost cause, I swear." She headed for the door. "Come on, the meeting's being pushed for your royal highn-ass."

The meeting went by boringly slow. Jeff decided to forgo all pretenses and began playing on his phone. He felt a small win even if he hadn't earned it.

There a tone change when the Dean demanded that they follow through on an end of the semester Transfer Dance. He vehemently vetoed any arguments and deemed the soiree to be the top priority for the next month. He was tight-lipped about why, only stating that this one had to be magnificent. He claimed it would be special for countless reasons.

At the mention of another Transfer Dance, the majority of the Committee lost focus and began to reminisce of the jaw-dropping lunacy of the first one. Abed rushed and unraveled in a snooty, analytical and nearly panicked tone. "I don't know if we're up for it. The only point in creating a sequel is to add to the story of the original; however for us to be successful it has to pair well with the events of the first part and even attempt to surpass it. Are we ready for this kind of responsibility?" He looked around the room, met with intrigued glances from the rest of the group. "It might help if there was a parallel structure or maybe a callback to _Tranny Dance 1: The Cliffhanger_."

"Did you just title the dance and reference it like a movie?" Britta asked, bewildered.

"How else would we reference the original?" He breathed. "Britta, would you be willing to yet again confess your love to Jeff?"

Her gasp conveyed disgust. "As if. You couldn't pay me to do that again."

"Why not? You guys were engaged at the beginning of the summer?"

Jenny watched the exchange, fully engrossed, muttering several whispered, 'What's, and 'That happened?'

"Hardly. That was separation anxiety. And we've been over this; I only made a fool out of myself to tear down his snooty ex."

Abed thought carefully and gestured with his index finger. "You make a good point; it's pointless without your competition and Slater did disappear after that day." There was silence around the room as that thought sunk in. "And Duncan isn't around for Chang to attack."

"Unfortunately." Chang softly interjected.

"Dalmatian theme might be interest-"

"NO!" A chorus sang refusal at the Dean's mere mention. Silence swallowed the room up.

"I'll figure it out." Abed stated, all determination and little sanity. "If we are set on this, I will find a way to make it a worthy sequel." He thought. "I want everyone thinking about a title to contest the original."

Jeff shook his head, all too aware that no one would take the request seriously and it would be forgotten by the time they left the room.

When the meeting ended he watched as Jenny picked up her stuff and walked out into the hallway where she met up with Professor Cligoris, who, if Jeff was being honest, he completely forgot worked there. It seemed a relatively normal and unsurprising match.

* * *

A week had passed in either mayhem or monotony and Annie felt a fraction of her usual self. She had received a few texts from Ethan, but nothing substantial and she called it on the table. The date had only been so-so after all, so her disappointment was minute. She hadn't seen or heard from Jeff and only knew the little about Greendale that Abed relayed to her.

Her roommate was excited to report that the Dean was throwing the Transfer Dance in her honor. She worried, but Abed promised her that the Dean hadn't said anything; he just wanted to make sure it was special. It filled her heart with a soft warmth to know that their imbalanced, but lovable Dean thought her worthy of such a project. If Abed hadn't made it directly connected to her, she would have made an effort to skip it, but she knew she couldn't.

With Summer being more than halfway over and only two weeks left to her internship, Annie felt a dreadful unease settle over the pit in her stomach. She knew that she couldn't keep putting off the one conversation she really didn't want to have. She tried to legitimize her procrastination with anything she could find, but found her gut tensing randomly throughout the past few days.

On Friday, she left work a little early to beat the traffic. Before she could chicken out she drove directly to Greendale, not allowing herself to stop home, because she knew she wouldn't go through with it if she did.

Jeff had a late class on Fridays that ran after 5, so she knew he would be on campus. She could guess that his surest hiding place in between or right after classes would be his office, so she strutted in that direction, almost wishing he wasn't there.

* * *

There was a soft knock on the door to Jeff's office. "Yeah?" He called.

He turned to identify the source of the muted steps as Annie walked in. "Annie, what are you doing here?" He stood and felt proud that he sounded only slightly pleased. The feeling quickly faded as she gestured for him to sit back down. She let the door shut behind her. He compromised and leaned against his desk, overly anxious by the air that surrounded her.

"Um, I wanted to tell you something." She seemed like she was trying too hard to sound casual.

"Okay, what is it?" He tried to seem calm, but couldn't feel it, not when she slowly approached, talking to and looking at him like she did with Abed the day Cougar Town was pulled from ABC.

"What; are you and Dad getting a divorce?" He pitifully joked and laughed. "Seriously, Annie you're acting really weird."

"I'm not trying to. It's just," she leaned against Hickey's desk, sighing. "I know how you get about these things…"

"Rip off the Band-Aid, Annie."

"I'm not coming back." She almost blurted. A breath. "I'm not coming back to Greendale next semester."

"What?" He inhaled as a silence permeated and suffocated the room.

"I just know how you get when it concerns Greendale, even if you deny it. Change is hard for you so I wanted to make the effort to tell you in person, because I didn't want you to hear from Abed or the Dean…" She rambled.

"What are you saying, Annie?"

She sighed and met his gaze. "I'm not coming back to Greendale, Jeff. I'm transferring out."


	12. The Storm

**A/N - Here comes the climax. Not to give myself a pat on the back, but *pat pat* for the chapter title wordplay... lol really not impressive, sorry for dorking. 12 Chapters down 2 1/2 more to go. Forewarning: I believe one F-bomb is dropped in this chapter, not worth changing the rating, but thought I might let you know. Sorry for the late update; I went back to work today, so I couldn't post immediately. Hope you enjoy. As usual, please R &R. It's always deeply appreciated.**

* * *

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm leaving Greendale. I'm not coming back next semester. I'm done here."

"You're done here?" He counted his breath. "How could you say it so trivially, like it doesn't even matter?"

"Because it doesn't, Jeff. I never promised to stay here forever and like most people do, I'm moving on. Just several years too late."

"Do you actually mean that?" He couldn't help but feel offended by the remark.

"Yes, I do. I have stuck around way too long. I've been accepted at Colorado Tech and I can focus on receiving my degree in Forensic Science and something great is happening now that I'm finally letting go of this place."

"How can you be flippant and callous?"

"Callous? Are you serious?" She breathed shallowly. "I have given years of my life to this place; I stuck around when it should've been condemned, I wasted time and effort trying to improve it. I'm tired and there are better things waiting; shouldn't you be happy for me?" Jeff couldn't help but feel as if this was a metaphor; he was Greendale and she was moving on.

He couldn't comprehend his own anger, but there it was, burning and blinding him to anything but the truth that Annie was leaving. He shouldn't care so much; it wasn't like this meant they were no longer friends, but for him it almost felt like it. Since the beginning of the summer, he had felt her pulling away from him, from Greendale, from all of it and he had been right the whole time. It wasn't just Greendale, she was slipping away. All he could feel was irate indignation, a need to shoot down everything she said. "When did you become so selfish, that you could walk away so coldly after this place has given you everything?"

"Greendale _**gave**_ me nothing." She retorted.

"You're right; you went from loner Annie Adderall and changed with no help whatsoever."

"Oh my God, you are such an unbelievable asshole!" Annie seethed.

"Me? How? You're the one abandoning your friends." He defended.

"It's not abandoning, Jeff; it's growing up. Did you really think this was going to last forever? That what's left of us would grow old at Greendale?"

God help him, he did. "Yeah." He said with utter frankness.

Annie's anger cooled towards him and her eyes revealed pity. "How would that work? Would I book the study room for my wedding?" He grimaced. "Would the Dean babysit my children?" She regained her hysterical tone.

Jeff tried to shake the thought off. "Well, that would be far from ideal."

She grunted in frustration, her hands cradled her temples. "God, it's always like this with you. I get that change scares you, but you need to realize once it's time to move on." Dropping her hands, she breathed deeply as if trying to calm herself.

"Just be honest, Annie. You said it yourself. 'It's time to move on.' You are trying to leave us."

"No, I'm trying to leave you!" Jeff could feel his face fall; thankful for the honesty, but pained by the truth. "You keep doing this same damn thing. I don't owe you an explanation. You don't get a final say in my life. I'm tired of this," she gestured between the two of them. "I'm sick of feeling like I have this one-sided obligation to you." She sighed. "I just want to be happy. I want a life of my own and you make that impossible. Why?"

Jeff felt his anger break. He wasn't being fair to Annie, he never had been. He had no legitimate hold on her so he was constantly fighting his way into her life. "I don't mean to, Annie. I really do just want you to be happy, it's just-"

"That you don't want to be the last one to move on? You're afraid your friends will forget you? You need to be the center of attention at all time? What; what is it? What character flaw gives you a pass to control and trap the people you are supposed to care about? What makes it okay, Jeff?"

Jeff couldn't handle how close to the bone she was hacking. Of course he was afraid of losing her, his kindest and dearest friend, but that had no bearing on the momentous dread coursing through his veins right now. It was losing her, Annie. Everyone could and would walk away from this place, from Greendale; but Annie couldn't walk away from him. He didn't think he could even stomach the thought. "Is that the kind of terrible person you see me as, Annie?"

She looked down and her devastated voice fell out in a hush. "What am I supposed to think, Jeff? I'm just trying to be happy; I thought I could finally do that if I move on, but you keep trying to drag me back. Can you even imagine how hard this has been on me? Without you coming around, trying to guilt me for being selfish for wanting my own life?" She exhaled. "It shouldn't be this hard." There was a brief silence that held and rattled his nerves. Her ragged breath trickled out agonizingly slow. Her voice was pleading. "I'm trying to be your friend, Jeff. Why do you make it so damn impossible?"

"Because I'm in love with you!" The sentence came out in a rush, but he couldn't silence the feelings that had been bubbling over for the past couple of months. He was finally saying the full truth out loud and he couldn't even try to overpower his own hell-bent momentum. "Because it's not just about friendship for me. I can't let you just move on with your life, when it doesn't include me; because I can't move on with mine if it doesn't include you." That was almost too sappy for him, but he couldn't think of another way to convey the depth of what he was feeling for her.

Before he could continue, she slapped him hard across the face. "You are unforgivably selfish." He started to stammer, desperate to recover, but she had her own momentum now. "You have known for years that I have felt…" she grasped for a word and continued almost noncommittal. "Something for you and you have denied the possibility for so long, making me think I have read into things; that it was all in my head." She glared, fiery and unfinished. "You have paraded women in front of me, pushed men away from me and refused to give the little amount of space I asked for to get over you, this." She sneered. Jeff tried to interject, feeling hope for the first time, but 'Formidable Annie' would not be stopped now. "You have told me repeatedly to move on and made it impossible for me to do so; and now, in some pathetic last ditch effort to cling to some schoolgirl groupie you once made out with; you tell me that you love me." She took a deep breath and held in what might've been tears.

"How could you continue to play with my feelings like this? What could you expect to gain from it?" She breathed much slower. "How have you ever called yourself my friend?" Her voice broke. Jeff couldn't speak or think or move, but his eyes were pained, he could feel it in the scrunch of his brow. The stillness stretched and the silence grated at their ears, until Annie couldn't take it anymore. "I think it's best if you don't call or come by the apartment. If you need to see Abed, do it somewhere else." She turned, grabbed her briefcase and left, unable to look back or utter a goodbye.

Jeff looked at the spot where she had stood a half an hour before, still entranced by her hurt and her anger. Nothing went as he had hoped and somehow it exceeded his worst fears. He had fucked with her heart so many times that she refused to believe that he loved her. He had wounded her beyond what he could apologize for and he had lost his dearest friend. It had been the shittiest hour of his life and he had no idea how to fix it, but he had to. All the most important things in his life came down to Annie.

He had often prided himself on his sense of reality, even now he couldn't admit the existence of soul mates, (the concept was too cheesy) but he knew undoubtedly that Annie was the love of his life. All this time, all these years of playing it cool and pretending to not care were for his own benefit, because he was never ready to admit the truth about the 'Annie of it all' but it had been there, clear as day. On paper it shouldn't work - they didn't match in anyway - but he knew it would, because it was Annie. It had to work. Jeff had never loved anyone before and he knew that he couldn't love anyone after her. Even if the thought was overly sentimental and tacky, he had to tell her, because if soul mates did exist, Annie was most definitely his.

* * *

Annie went straight into her apartment and fell flat on her bed. After all this time of back and forth, the constant denial, she couldn't believe Jeff's claim of feelings for her. It felt as if he was openly mocking her. Part of her, most of her wanted to believe Jeff. It would validate her sanity, his behavior and her love for him. The thought had never crossed her mind until she heard the word cross his lips. She loved Jeff, of course she did; he made her laugh, he taught her to take a step back and enjoy the little things, he made her feel appreciated, maybe not wanted… He was witty, fun and interesting. He cared so much, but was afraid to let it show. He inspired the people around him and even he could admit his own growth. She couldn't doubt her love for him for a second; which is why she was so damn furious at him.

The worst part was that she knew he could lie about it. She had seen him do something very similar to Britta to win some sick competition, but that had been all fun and games. What made her doubt her original assessment was that she knew Jeff to be a better friend than that; he couldn't screw with her over something so serious, at least that's what she liked to think. She had to mean more to him than that, even if only as a friend.

Part of her knew that she was only looking for reasons to confirm what he had said. Realizing that she loved the bastard only strengthened her resolve. She couldn't move forward if Jeff was around. Ever since their sophomore year, Jeff had been the man that she couldn't get out of her system, even if she hadn't understood it at the time. It shouldn't have surprised her, but he fit the profile perfectly; he was selfish, exhausting, frustrating, charming and he was her kryptonite. He was bad for her, just like Blade had been bad for Britta and Andre had definitely been bad for Shirley. She could learn from her friends' mistakes. She couldn't pine over him for the rest of her life.

* * *

Abed looked at his ringing cellphone with complete boredom. The only reason he answered was because of the slamming front door not 3 seconds before. When he looked at his phone and read Jeff's name on the caller ID, Annie's bedroom door slammed and he instantly knew the two things were connected. "What did you do this time?" Abed answered the phone, emoting as much as he knew how.

Jeff's voice was gravelly and unable to mask his concern. "What do you mean?"

Abed scoffed. "How subtle do you think you guys are, really, all of you? It's like watching a bunch of drunk people trying to sneak around; you think you're tiptoeing, but you're stomping and stumbling."

"Oddly enough, I vaguely understand that surprisingly long analogy."

"Thank you. I've been working on trying to create relatable references that don't rely on my thorough and intimidating knowledge of film and television." Before Jeff would surely congratulate him on both his effort and its result, Abed returned to the important topic. "How and why did you piss off Annie?"

Jeff sighed. "Abridged version?"

Abed nodded and although Jeff couldn't see the gesture, he accurately interpreted the silence. "She told me that she was transferring out of Greendale and-"

"You freaked and lashed out because Greendale was a metaphor for her leaving you, which you can't handle because you realized in Borchert's lab that you're in love with her?"

"Wha-" He cut himself off.

"Like I said, drunk and stumbling." There was silence on the other end. "If you don't want to talk about it or be honest with me, that's fine. You don't owe me an explanation; you're my friend. But Annie has pretty much become my best friend and I'm going to be on her side. I also can guess that I would be on her side anyway." Abed said in his factual and non-judgmental tone.

"So what should I do?"

"I have no idea, but I'm a little busy right now, spit-balling for her dance." Abed hinted.

"Her dance?"

"Yeah, the Dean brought back the Transfer Dance in Annie's honor after she gave him the news."

"He did?"

"Yep and I'm starting to think I can contribute a callback." He offered.

Jeff sounded hopeful when he inquired, "Tell me more."


	13. Scheduling and Silence

**A/N - Okay, so not to get all sentimental, but I can't believe it's almost over. Tomorrow is my last upload. Ch 14 and an Epilogue are all that's left. I hope you enjoy. Again, please R &R, even if only to tell me that you're reading along; it means a lot to me. Thank you.**

* * *

Annie had invited Britta and Shirley out to lunch on Saturday. As they chewed on breadsticks and sipped their drinks, Annie revealed her plans to transfer to Colorado Tech. Shirley cooed in pride and excitement for her. Britta smiled and congratulated her, feeling thrilled for her dear friend, but worry nagged at the back of her head for her hopeless friend.

Britta knew that Jeff wasn't going to handle this well. "So who else knows?" She had to gauge how to proceed.

"Well, Abed found out when I got the acceptance letter, I had to tell the Dean last week and I happened to tell Jeff yesterday."

It was brief, but Britta heard the avoidance tone. Something bad had transpired. "How'd he take it?"

Annie met her glance. "Um, not well. We got into a bit of a fight."

"Oh, An-nie, I'm sorry." Shirley offered.

"No, really it's fine. He was a jerk about it and a crappy friend, because he can't be happy for me, but it's fine. I'm not putting my life on hold, just because he has an issue."

The modern woman in Britta applauded her. "Good for you." The fire of sticking it to Jeff faded and suddenly Britta became concerned for the big doofus. He wasn't good at expressing himself which meant he was probably a colossal ass, but she knew he cared more about Annie than anything or anyone else; hell, Annie seemed to be the only trigger to a tolerable Jeff. "Are you guys alright?"

"Honestly?" She sighed. "No and I don't think we will be for a long time." She avoided Britta's apprehensive stare. "He's just so used to getting his way, even where it doesn't concern him."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Britta couldn't believe she was defending Winger. She knew undoubtedly that he was in the wrong, but he was also invested. To say it didn't concern him was kind of tough and definitely inaccurate. "I mean, it's totally your choice, but you leaving does concern all of us. Just like Troy leaving affected all of our lives; he wasn't the only one facing the change."

Annie looked thoughtful. "But none of us tore him down for choosing to leave."

"No, but Abed tried to stop it from happening. I think all of us react poorly when we are losing someone so important." She wanted to convey to Annie just what she meant, without outright saying it. Jeff cared for Annie enormously and that kind of thing needed to be treated with some amount of delicacy and Britta had no problem admitting that that was not her strong suit.

"Well, Jeff can try all he wants. I'm going." Annie said defiantly.

"As well you should." Britta clinked glasses with her friends and hoped things would settle themselves out.

After finishing lunch, Britta couldn't help herself. She knew that Jeff was a jerk and that he deserved no sympathy, but she also knew that he didn't handle change well and if Annie was so clearly livid with him, he had to be feeling it. "I'm worried about Jeff." She shared with Shirley after they had waved goodbye to Annie and walked in the same direction towards their cars.

"I can't imagine why. Jef-frey must've really messed up to get Annie that angry." Shirley defended, her voice getting deeper with each word.

"No, I know. If anyone knows what an ass he can be, it's me. It's just; he doesn't handle it well when Annie is angry with him. This entire summer has been a testament to that." Shirley nodded. "And do you remember when he started to keep a diary after the Pillow/Blanket war, just because Annie threatened to not talk to him. I mean, usually he makes things a bigger mess, but I don't think it's ever on purpose. He might be careless with other people's feelings, but I don't think he's ever intentionally malicious."

"That's true." Shirley's voice was light and pleasant again. "Jef-frey's got a good heart, even if he ignores it most of the time."

"Exactly." She breathed. "I feel like I should check on him." She called Jeff an hour later and before she knew it she was sucked into a request with little rhyme or reason. Another hour later and she found that Shirley had been dragged as well. It had been a telling couple of hours, but she didn't have time to judge when there was work to do.

* * *

It had been over a week and Annie hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jeff. This made her realize two things, he was finally giving her the space she needed and she had properly shamed him by calling him out on his bluff. If he really had felt as he proclaimed, he wouldn't have stayed silent for this long. It was nice to be right and somehow she felt the heavy weight of defeat. She should be thankful that he was finally being a true friend to her, but that meant that everything else was a lie.

In the last week of her internship, everything started to wind down. Kathryn and Greg thanked her for all her hard work and asked her to keep them updated about her school and employment situation which caused her to hope for a life after all this schooling. At least something in her life was starting to look up.

* * *

The Committee was in full swing. The Transfer Dance was right around the corner and everyone contributed with enthusiasm and perseverance, all but Chang and Hickey who were both given a pass since neither one could adapt the mentality necessary for the engrossing project.

The Dean saw to the decorations and theme. He was of course paired with Professor Stewart to balance out his patented brand of unusual. Britta and Shirley worked together on the clothing and details; Abed had been clear about re-creation and God help them if they strayed from his plan. Cligoris went through photos and film and illuminated significant details in each frame and brought the group's attention for clarification.

Jeff worked closely beside Abed. A lot had been revealed in the past few days, but this wasn't the time for embarrassment, this was the time for action and follow through. Abed still played with titles; the one facet of the event that Jeff didn't have his hands in and could not have cared less about. Time was running out and absolutely everything had to be perfect.

Jeff was not a stranger to second chances; Greendale had been one of them and he was forever grateful for it, more than most he had been given, but even Greendale wasn't half as important as this.

The one thing Hickey had been able to contribute was his knack for recruitment; which was a soft euphemism for how he scared some students into soiling their pants and knew how to use it to his advantage.

There were extra hands and so many people contributing that the school was bustling in between classes and during breaks. It had been a long time since Greendale had unified under one cause, and even longer since the cause had been positive and not one of destruction. Flyers lit up the school.

Jeff knew there was a risk in what they were doing; but at this point it was go big or go home, he was just happy that he had people who were ready to go big for him. Certain things could not be replicated even with all the resources, time and money in the world; but that was life, ever-changing and always frustrating.

Jeff was most thankful for Abed; his dear friend with a computer-like brain that honed in and focused on every task. Jeff followed instructions and circled his way around the study room, throwing in his two cents here or there, determined to understand every detail and help in every way that he could. This mattered to everyone, but mostly to him and he was ready to submerge himself in his own nightmare. A month before he would've paid good money (or at least the equivalent on a teacher's salary) to get out of what he was voluntarily doing now.

Jeff was brought out of his reverie by a loud snap. Abed proclaimed, "I've got it!"

The entire room froze. "What?"

"I've got our title." Groans sounded all around, but Jeff pretended to care. It was the least he could do for his friend who was working so hard. "Get me someone from the art department for banners, stat!" He barked, punny, but still all business.

"Ladies." Jeff stood beside Britta and Shirley. "You think you've got it?"

Britta looked at Shirley, both their brows knit together before looking back at him. They pointed at the picture in front of them. "We think we've got the main one." He nodded hopefully, when Britta continued. "But the lighting on this can be a bitch. I'm pretty sure it's still in the closet and I've seen those." She pointed beneath. "So we're good there. I know I'm good and Shirley says she can make do. Hopefully we can get this out there." She chewed on her pen.

"I believe in your feminine prowess."

"Well, that makes one of us." Shirley said deep and pointedly at Britta who nudged her in reply. "Ow. Jef-frey, are you sure you want to go through with this. It's just so-"

"Whatever you're going to say, I've already said to myself. Cheesy, embarrassing, out of character, sappy, pathetic… I could go on. But this isn't about or for me, right?"

She smiled and patted his hand. "Right."

"Okay, then back to work." Her eyes narrowed. "Please; I meant to say, please."

"Oh, I know, I just wanted to make sure you knew too." Shirley's voice stayed sweet, but maintained both its threat and edge.

* * *

Annie came home from work on Friday, exhausted and ready to sleep, but when she entered her room, her relief was stolen from her as a note reminded her that it was the night of the Transfer Dance. A familiar blue dress was laid out on her bed and shoes sat on her desk chair. She recognized the handwriting and smiled to see that Shirley had gone to such lengths to pamper her slightly for an event that would barely be in her honor. She may have been the inspiration for the Transfer Dance, but she doubted her influence stretched any further than that.

She smiled tiredly and hurried into the bathroom to shower and begin getting ready for a night that she barely had the energy for. A couple drinks, some dancing and laughing with friends was definitely the best way to say goodbye to a place that had meant so much to her. It seemed wrong to just walk away; at least the dance gave her a chance to celebrate nearly six years of fond memories.


	14. Transfer Dance

**A/N - Last chapter! Thank you so much to anyone who read and especially to those who reviewed; each comment really made my day. The POV in the last segment becomes more 3rd person omniscient, as opposed to the usual 3rd person limited. I also originally wrote this fic solely for myself, so this is the kind of explanation I feel Annie is/was entitled to. Time for the resolution. Epilogue will also be posted today. Thanks so much!**

* * *

Jeff entered the cafeteria and felt himself pulled back to the original Transfer Dance all those years ago. It was such a different time. So much had changed and yet nothing really had. They were the ones who had changed. Jeff grinned when he noticed his unique friend tweaking decorations off to the side. He straightened his suit jacket and approached Abed slowly.

The younger man turned and stopped when he saw him. "What is this?" Abed pointed his finger at Jeff's jaw. "This is not what we talked about, Jeff."

"I know. I don't think it really matters."

"Don't think it matters?" He nearly sounded hysterical. "We were going for a specific look."

"Yes, I'm well aware that you wanted a perfect replication, Abed." The finger lingered in his face and he nonchalantly slapped it away.

"Clean shaven!"

"I like the scruff."

"I can't work like this." He huffed. "How am I supposed to direct such stubborn people? What the Director says goes!" He marched away, throwing his hands up in the air and muttering to himself in what resembled a stage whisper. "I wore powder blue for you. It's not ironic the 2nd time around."

Jeff sighed and rubbed his hand over his prickly jaw and wondered if all this effort had been pointless. He felt so certain when he first planned with Abed two weeks before, but he wasn't so sure now that it was here.

Shirley came beside him. "Are you nervous?"

He smiled, despite himself. "Not as much as I thought I would be. This is just about giving Annie the perfect send-off even if I don't want to."

"You've grown up, Jeffrey."

"You mean, grown old."

"I said what I meant." She smiled.

Behind Shirley, a banner was hung. "Son of a bitch!" Jeff cursed.

"I know you aren't cursing at me boy!" Her deep voice warned.

"No," he tapped her arm and pointed behind her.

A banner read:

TR _ **ANNIE**_ DANCE 2:

THE ANNIE OF IT ALL

*Con-trans-ulations to other transfer students

Shirley started to giggle, but Jeff fumed. "I could honestly murder him this time."

"Oh, come on Jef-frey." She said in mid-chortle. "It's funny and kind of true when you think about it." She smiled.

"Yeah, you know it; so does the rest of the Committee, but I didn't plan on making this school-wide information. Tonight is about her transferring, not my whole deal." He had dealt with this embarrassment when he first told the group of their fight and what he had said and felt before pleading for their help.

"Oh, that's a big bunch of bull and you know it. Tonight is about you making a fool of yourself and hoping it's enough."

He looked away. "So have you seen Britta in her sash?"

Shirley narrowed her eyes to let him know that she recognized the subject change, but she smiled. "So sil-ly." She cooed, delighted.

"And can you believe that the Dean is wearing a suit?"

Shirley shook her head, walking away. "Hey, we were on costume duty and Abed can get pretty manic when he wants. He said authentic, so we gave him authentic. It's the same suit." Jeff smiled at that. Even if it wasn't enough, at least everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Jeff looked around and noticed Abed in the corner speaking intently with Leonard, Britta fidgeting with her sash and Shirley smiling and chatting away with Professor Stewart. He was thankful for these crazy people who had enriched his life. A half an hour later the dance was ready to begin, they were just waiting for their guest of honor.

* * *

Annie walked in 5 minutes after the start of the dance. She moved hesitantly, surveying the deranged déjà vu of the cafeteria. She slowly joined her friends by the refreshments, taking in detail by detail that made up the sequel. The glittering disco ball and strung up white lights cast the auditorium in a shimmering brightness. Thick velvet and sparkled curtains embraced the space. A circular platform sat in the middle of the room with an empty piano and she could almost hear Pierce's plagiarized school song. Her heart warmed at the memory.

Jeff watched and gathered his own courage to approach her. He could barely admit it to himself but his heart hammered in his chest at the sight of her dressed like she was, enveloping him into one of his fondest and most important memories of how she smelled, felt and tasted.

He breathed deeply and decided to join the rest of them. She looked up and her eyes tightened. Annie tried to breathe through the anguish that she was feeling. Jeff watched the heavy rise and fall of her breath and smiled. "What do you think?"

She looked around. "It's absolutely insane." She immediately turned to Abed. "So you really got pulled into this idea of cohesion, huh? Did he torture any of you into helping out?"

"Actually," Britta smiled cryptically. " _ **Abed**_ didn't really take over or force us to help…" She emphasized the name.

"You didn't?" Annie still looked to her roommate.

"Not really. I kind of came up with the idea. A little bit." He amended. "All the details and coercion weren't really my contribution."

"Well, who?"

"That would be me." Jeff made sure to step closer to her.

She looked at him in disbelief, which only made Jeff smile wider. "You hate planning and dances."

"More than anything, but this was important."

Annie could feel herself soften and could see the matching look in Jeff's eyes as he watched her. "I guess I accept your apology." She said boldly, clearly trying to laugh off what had occurred between them.

Jeff's eyebrows lifted; he felt his stomach tighten when she addressed their issue, but he took it as the opportunity he was waiting for. "Oh, I'm not sorry."

"What?" She tried to calm herself in the face of his arrogance. Neither she or Jeff noticed their friends quickly backing away.

Jeff played with a low hanging ribbon and his eyes roamed over crescent moon cut-outs framed in twinkling lights. "Think of this as a gift, not apology."

"You're cocky to think that any reminder of that night is a gift for me."

He nodded feeling her anger wash onto him in slow but growing waves. "The gift isn't the replication; that was for Abed and me. This was a very dear night to me." He smiled playfully at her and Annie almost sneered in response. "The time and effort put into tonight is your gift."

"Which is?"

"The Grand Gesture." She looked away from him and noticed the titled banner hanging on the wall. Her eyes widened and she hurried out the door.

His friends were watching Jeff as he called. "Don't worry; I got this." He chased after her.

She was just outside the door, but Jeff didn't stop there. He grabbed her hand and dragged her along further away from the dance. "I swear to you, the banner wasn't my idea; it was Abed's. I tried to tear the thing down earlier."

He kept pulling her, luckily Annie followed, ignoring the feeling that she was being mocked. He stopped in front of the library. She eyed him sharply. "What are you doing, Jeff?"

"I said Grand Gesture, right? How about letting me finish?"

Her expression soured. "Jeff, it's okay. We can get passed all this eventually. We both said things we didn't mean. Even if you suck at being apologetic, I can forgive you."

"I don't want you to just forgive me, Annie. I'm a lot more selfish than that… I want you to believe me." His eyes were soft as he tried to plead to her and she felt her knees lock, unwilling to let them go weak.

"These past few weeks have enlightened me, really. You actually listened to me, finally giving me some space and even if you can't admit where you were wrong, you've gone this far without defending some ridiculous sentiments that you would only stick to because of your pride, just like you and Britta at the beginning of our sophomore year."

"Annie!" He barked and then bit his lip as she looked back at him, flustered. "This has never been like that time with Britta; you and I have never been like Britta and I. Don't get me wrong, defending what I said is important, but proving it to you is even more important; so is supporting you, wishing you well and sending you off in the style you deserve. That's why I've given you space; not because I didn't mean it or because I would take it back."

"I won't, I can't take it back. Annie." He grabbed both her hands. "I meant every word. I'm crazy about you." He sighed. "You have been at the forefront of my mind since we kissed."

Annie couldn't help her disbelief and expressed it through a snarky comment. "Hence, the re-visioning of a transfer dance sequel."

To her surprise, he smiled. Jeff tried to convey just what she meant to him as he held both her shoulders. "I'm not talking about the transfer dance. The 'Annie of it all' burrowed itself in my brain and my heart since you kissed me at that debate. I felt something that I have only felt with you. It overpowered and it scared me and that's why I regret the transfer dance."

She tensed in his arms and he tried to soften his voice. "I'm not talking about the kiss. I'm talking about how like an idiot, I pulled back and instead of being honest with you, I acted like that kiss or the way we felt under these lights," he looked and gestured upward, still clinging to her arms. "Was a fluke and I truly regret that so much. I couldn't be or do anything more for you and I know that if I tried, you and I wouldn't have made it. I just wasn't ready for you. How I feel about you now is a million times stronger than it was then, but it never would've grown if you and I got together; I would've pushed you away, because that's all I know how to do." He rubbed her arms lightly and she felt goosebumps trickle into her skin. "But I spent so long denying what you and I both felt. I could've told you I wasn't ready, I could've said we were better off as friends, but I treated you like a child with an infatuation and that was so wrong of me. I felt it too, every bit as much as you did, probably more, but I demeaned you and used it as a way to talk down to you and treat you like a child." He sighed and shook his head. "That is what I regret about that night. That is what I'm sorry for; that and the million times I isolated you from being with anybody that could've made you happy, which is all you deserved.

"I just couldn't watch you be with anybody else; which is why this past month has been hell for me, deservedly so." He smiled sadly. "Back in Borchert's lab, I looked at everyone and didn't feeling a single blip. When I looked at you and heard your voice inside my head, it opened the door." He watched understanding fill her eyes and she tried to ignore the pounding of her heart. "I thought I could just ignore it and that we could continue being friends, but that wasn't possible for me, not after I had to admit it to myself. I denied my feelings for you for so long that I thought I could trick myself into making it true, but I couldn't. You overwhelm me in the best way." His eyes were liquid and she melted. "Annie, I'm in love with you and I'm sorry I've been a coward for so long. I should've told you sooner."

There was private hush that fell over them. Annie wanted to believe him, she had to believe him. She couldn't think of the words to convey her love for him and the joy bursting in her heart. She smiled and Jeff felt himself breathe again. Relief spilled through his body as she slowly leaned in and kissed him. When she pulled back she was barely able to utter a whispered, "I love you, you asshole," before he launched back into another kiss, pulling her close to him, thrilled with knowledge that this time it would go right. He would make sure of that.

They stayed like that in front of the library for several minutes before Jeff finally pulled away. "We can't miss the dance."

Annie smiled. "Why not? I'm enjoying this much more." She writhed in his arms.

He tensed a little. "Me too, believe me, but there is a reason I have disappeared for the past two weeks. Our friends have worked so hard to make this night special for you."

She frowned a little bit. "You're right."

"Don't worry; there will be plenty of time for this later." She smiled back at him and they both leaned in for a soft kiss.

As they walked towards the cafeteria, Jeff wound her hand in his, amazed at the feeling of being so crazy in love. He could almost understand why people wrote songs about it. Almost.

The transfer dance was still in full swing when they re-entered. Shirley and Britta were overjoyed at the sight of the couple's entwined hands. Abed offered a vague smile and patted Jeff on the shoulder. "You did it, you son of a bitch!" From the tone in his voice, Jeff was able to guess that he was channeling some character from something. Who and what, Jeff had absolutely no idea.

There were long looks and stolen glances throughout the night and even if Annie tried to move, she could feel Jeff's hand securely grasping hers; so she didn't, not because she felt like she couldn't move, but because she liked the idea of touching and feeling him throughout the night, it comforted and made it all the more real for her. Within an hour, Britta presented Annie with her sash. "Because I remember how much you wanted to be Transfer Queen last time." She grinned and thanked her friend.

Abruptly Jeff let go of her hand and smiled, looking at her. "I almost forgot." He got up and took to the circular platform beside them. He grabbed a microphone from its stand. "Hi, everyone." There was a resounding reply greeting him. He lifted his drink. "I would like to give a toast to all the transfer students who are moving on. As a new professor I have barely earned the right to empathize with you and wish you success; however as a former student, I know better than anybody how easy it would be to stay here, caught up in the crazy and desensitized to the normality the real world has to offer in comparison, but you all are making the brave choice. Learning in the unfamiliar, trying in the unknown and growing in the promise of a real educational institution." There were laughs. "Most of you will be missed, not all." He smiled. "It was lost in the last transfer dance, which most of you weren't here for – count yourselves lucky – but there is something incredibly important about moving forward, as long as you don't forget where you've been." There was some applause.

"Now to the guest of honor, Annie Edison." The applause trickled down as he addressed the woman in front of him. "You have enriched this school and the lives of so many who reside here. Greendale has become a better place because of your intention and your effort. The impact that you have made on all of us," he pointed his drink around the room for emphasis. "Is irreversible and indescribable. Greendale is indebted to you and you will be sorely missed."

Before he could lift his glass, Abed nudged Leonard who shouted, "Oh come on, who are you choosing?"

Jeff wanted to make a joke about Leonard's deteriorating memory placing him at the original dance, until he realized that that was why he had seen Abed talking to the dinosaur earlier, there was his callback; knowing Abed, it was about nostalgia, a nod to the original and things coming full circle. He lifted his glass, laughed into the microphone and cheered. "Annie." Her name was echoed as he pulled her onto the platform with him and everyone tilted their drinks back. He kissed her as hoots and hollers erupted around them. She pulled back feeling dizzy, her eyes full of the laughter that was escaping. Maybe moving on wasn't so bad after all, Jeff thought as Annie leaned into his side.


	15. Epilogue: Finally Resolved

**A/N - Here comes the end! I hope this fic was as enjoyable to read as it was to write. Thank you for every review/favorite/follow. It means a lot to me.**

* * *

Jeff looked over the assignment he was grading in his hands towards Annie who was typing away at her computer. She was wearing her favorite blue and white pinstripe button-up shirt of his. Her legs were crossed and her feet tucked beneath them, fully engrossed in her paper. It was nice to watch her move so subtly but comfortably in his apartment for the past few months. It put him at ease. A strand of hair fell in her eyes and she didn't seem to notice. It made him think of the first morning he woke up beside her. He never told her, but he didn't really sleep. He watched her soothing and weighted breaths, afraid that something might shatter the moment of perfection. Every morning still felt like that; he was overcome with how incredible it felt to touch, kiss and be with her. Each day he felt more content than the last. He never knew how or if he could tell her that for the first time in his life, he was really, truly happy. Not in the snarky, sarcastic and shallow way that he used to be, but in an honest, fulfilling and genuine way that warmed his entire core, spreading to his limbs and mingling with his breath. He loved her and she made him happy.

He didn't want to distract her, but it was only fair if he returned the favor; since she released a sigh that held his attention captive. He set the paper down on the coffee table and stretched, she barely regarded the movement. He nudged her knee with his foot and she still said and did nothing. Desperate, he leaned up against her with his head touching her shoulder. He could feel her body tense when he 'accidentally' breathed on her neck. "Jeff…" she warned.

"What?" He said in the mock innocence that he knew she could identify.

"Don't. I'm almost done."

"Okay." He pretended to concede, but he slowly placed a kiss on the edge of her shoulder. He kissed his way lazily and unrushed towards her neck. When he kissed the crook of her neck, he could hear and feel the almost imperceptible shakiness as she took in a breath. He knew he was winning, so he kissed her in the same spot again, just to tease. He just barely bared his teeth on the sensitive skin and she awarded him with a groan. He grinned and sunk his teeth a little deeper. "Son of a bitch!" She suddenly slammed her laptop closed and in one quick gesture, she pushed him back and sat on his lap. She kissed him deeply and could feel the smile in his lips and she hated that she had let him win. She pulled away. "Are you happy now that you've got my attention?"

He grinned cheekily. "I mean, yeah."

"Ass." She kissed him again.

"You love it."

"Yeah, yeah." She smiled. She straddled his lap and kissed him sweetly, while his hands rested on her thighs.

When she pulled back with a wistful sigh, her hands lay still and flat on his chest. Jeff placed one hand on top of hers and the other held her cheek as its fingers wove through her hair. "Why do you do that?"

Annie looked back to his eyes and he gestured to their hands. She smiled meekly. "It makes me feel secure. For so long, I never knew how you felt and I chalked up what I wanted to be all in my head, but when I kiss you or touch you and I feel your heart do that drum solo thing that mine does, it makes me feel sure about this, you, us."

Jeff sighed in slight self-loathing. He really had been torturing her all this time. He didn't deserve her, but even with the absolute certainty of that fact looming over his head, he wouldn't give her up, not for anything. Now that he had experienced life with her, he couldn't go back. He had everything he could ever need or want; he had love, he had a home and he had a future; all with her. He pulled her hand from his chest and kissed her soft palm. When he opened his eyes, he made sure to look directly into hers. "There is nothing I know more than the fact that you make me happy and I'm absolutely crazy about you and I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like that wasn't true."

Annie turned a shade of crimson shy that had Jeff grinning. She playfully swatted him with her free arm. "Wow, a sappy and sentimental Winger? I guess there really is a first time for everything." She said smugly and he gave her a mock laugh to encourage her sarcastic escape from her embarrassment, mumbling something about her being a 'miracle worker'. "Should I be on the lookout for notebooks with 'Mr. Edison' written, all surrounded with hearts?" She teased.

He laughed and shrugged. "Can't a man dream?"

She lightly gasped breathily, but he leaned in and interrupted the sound with a light kiss. She giggled when he pulled away. "Don't tease me, Jeff. You dork."

"Who is this Jeff? I only answer to Mr. Edison now!"

She looked down. "Jeff, I don't think that's funny."

"I don't think it is either." He smiled. If there was one thing Jeff Winger wasn't, it was sappy, but he wanted to be, for her, only for her; because loving someone so incredible and being loved back was an amazing gift. Just sitting on the couch with her felt so right in a way nothing had ever felt before.

'Mr. Edison' didn't scare him, because he knew that that's where they were eventually headed, but it was with Annie. He saw superchildren; devilishly handsome boys or beautifully angelic girls, all with cheeky Winger grins and precious Disney does eyes and it made him smile.

Annie shyly beamed as if she knew what he was thinking, wrapped her arms around his neck and cuddled to his chest. "Say it again." She hummed.

"I love you, Annie Edison."

She laughed. "Oh, Jeff, are we going to have to have another talk about discretion?"

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N - I loved writing this story and although it was originally meant to be just for me, I'm happy that I was able to share it with people who seemed to enjoy it. I do plan on posting some other fics, mostly Community-Milady/Milord type stuff, but I also would like to represent my other ships. So more stuff coming your way, if you feel so inclined to read. Again, thanks so much.  
**

 **-NE8675309**


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